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I AM EVIDENCE examines problem of untested rape kits

April 16, 2018
By
Brian Lowry

After years starring in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mariska Hargitay is now highlighting the subject matter in a new way by producing I AM EVIDENCE, a sobering and timely look at the way rape kits have been left to languish, a policy decision with the ghastly effect of enabling serial perpetrators to continue assaulting women.

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Mariska Hargitay’s new documentary shines light on epidemic of untested rape kits

April 13, 2018
By
NBC Nightly News

The HBO documentary ‘I am Evidence,’ produced by actress Mariska Hargitay, follows women who reported sexual assaults and provided DNA evidence but discovered it was never tested.

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The rape kit backlog shows exactly how we regard women in this country

April 13, 2018
By
Alanna Vagianos

There are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits currently sitting in police storage across the country. So, how did we get here?

That’s the question actress and activist Mariska Hargitay answers in her new HBO documentary “I Am Evidence,” set to air April 16. The film, co-produced by the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star and Trish Adlesic, and co-directed by Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir, takes a human approach to an epidemic that has reduced survivors, their stories and their trauma to a box of evidence. 

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A shocking number of rape kits are untested—Mariska Hargitay wants to change that

March 30, 2018
By
Kate Coyne

Mariska Hargitay has been investigating crimes as Olivia Benson on Law & Order for almost two decades. And now she’s fighting for real-life justice to end rape-kit backlog, which is the subject of her new HBO documentary, I Am Evidence.

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Women and men display their #MeToo designs after tattoo fundraiser

March 13, 2018
By
Jessica Haynes

Dozens of women and some men now carry a permanent symbol of support for survivors of sexual assault and abuse after a Saturday #MeToo tattoo fundraiser. Participants could opt for a 2-inch black rose outline for $50 with proceeds going to the Joyful Heart Foundation.

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California lawmakers introduce bills to end rape kit backlog

March 12, 2018
By
Kathy Park

As thousands of sexual assault victims wait for their rape kits to be tested, California lawmakers are taking renewed action to eliminate the backlog.

Ahead of Monday's private screening of the upcoming HBO documentary, "I Am Evidence," which exposes the rape kit backlog across the country and shares stories of sexual assault survivors, California legislators detailed their efforts to bring justice to victims.

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The problem with rape kits

March 8, 2018
By
Lux Alptraum

The original brilliance of the rape kit stemmed from the then-novel realization that the body of “a survivor of rape is a crime scene and there’s valuable evidence there,” says Ilse Knecht, policy and advocacy director for the Joyful Heart Foundation.

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A wrenching dilemma

February 20, 2018
By
Jessica Contrera

Across the country, decades’ worth of rape kits are finally being tested, but no one can agree on what to do next. A story of good intentions—and government blunders.

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Rape is the only crime where the victim is treated like a suspect, investigator says

February 19, 2018
By
Yami Virgin

Texas Chief Investigator and Sexual Assault Investigation Trainer, Wayne Springer, says an officer’s job is to collect and send the facts, not pass judgment. “This is the only crime you'll ever see that the victim becomes the accused almost instantly,” Springer explains.

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Heartbreaking PSA highlights the massive backlog of untested rape kits

February 13, 2018
By
Alanna Vagianos

A new public service announcement is shining a much-needed light on the thousands of rape kits that go untested every year in the U.S.

The Joyful Heart Foundation, which created the PSA, estimates that hundreds of thousands of rape kits are sitting untested in law enforcement facilities around the country due to the lack of resources and funding. “Shelved” lays out in 60 seconds the far-reaching impacts of this backlog.

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