Today's announcement is a watershed moment.
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When tested, DNA evidence contained inside rape kits can be an incredibly powerful tool to solve and prevent crime. It can identify an unknown assailant and confirm the presence of a known suspect. It can affirm the survivor's account of the attack and discredit the suspect. It can connect the suspect to other crime scenes. It can exonerate innocent suspects.
To accomplish these things, however, rape kits must be tested.
The federal government estimates that hundreds of thousands of rape kits sit untested in police and crime lab storage facilities across the country in what is known as the rape kit backlog.
Though experts estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of untested kits in police and crime lab storage facilities throughout the country, there is no comprehensive, national data on the nature and scope of the rape kit backlog. Few state governments and no federal agencies track this data. Across cities and counties, there are vast differences in the way law enforcement officials track and report rape kit data, if at all, making it exceedingly difficult to compare data and to have a national picture of the backlog.
But here's what we do know.
Salt Lake Police Chief disagrees with city proposal to solve rape kits backlog
Efforts to get more untested rape kits to the lab are moving forward in Utah
Convicted sex offender arrested, accused of raping woman with mental health condition
Salt Lake Police Chief disagrees with city proposal to solve rape kits backlog
Efforts to get more untested rape kits to the lab are moving forward in Utah
Convicted sex offender arrested, accused of raping woman with mental health condition
Two dozen DNA matches found in first 150 rape kits tested under new law
Rape kits untested for years after victims name Michael Miller, now charged in separate sex assault
Rape kit testing, prompted by CALL7 Investigation, begins as CBI seeks help from labs across country
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ENDTHEBACKLOG is a program of the Joyful Heart Foundation to shine a light on the backlog of untested rape kits throughout the United States. Our goal is to end this injustice by conducting groundbreaking research identifying the extent of the nation’s backlog and best practices for eliminating it, expanding the national dialogue on rape kit testing through increased public awareness, engaging communities and government agencies and officials and advocating for comprehensive rape kit reform legislation and policies at the local, state and federal levels. We urge you to learn more about the backlog, where it exists and why it matters. We invite you to take action and support efforts to test rape kits. Help us send the message that we must take rape seriously.
Advocate For Change
You can help us end the backlog. Advocate and help us spread the word.
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When tested, DNA is one of the most powerful tools we have to solve and prevent crime. Read more about it here.
As states and local jurisdictions have begun to process previously untested rape kits and take steps toward eliminating their backlogs, the question has remained of how to re-engage survivors whose cases are often years—sometimes decades—old. Read more about victim notification.
Every state has a codified set of legal rights for crime victims, often called a "victims’ bill of rights." Learn about these rights here.