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Number of States Seeking to End the Rape Kit Backlog Continues to Grows
Over the past several weeks, the colors of the ENDTHEBACKLOG.org map, which demonstrates everything we currently know about the rape kit backlog nationwide, have been changing.
Help ENDTHEBACKLOG.org Win a Webby!
ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, Joyful Heart's website devoted to shining a light on and ending this injustice, has been nominated for a Webby Award for Best Activism website, one of the most prestigious honors a website can achieve.
Guest column: End to rape kit backlog will serve healing
Last week we stood together as Memphis made a public commitment to address and eliminate the city’s backlog of untested sexual assault kits.
News Roundup: The Latest on the Rape Kit Backlog
Since we’ve relaunched ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, news has been pouring in about the rape kit backlog across the country. Journalists are uncovering backlogs, jurisdictions are implementing reforms to track and test rape kits and citizens are taking action.
The Moment to ENDTHEBACKLOG
Just a few short weeks ago, Memphis revealed its astounding backlog of 12,000 untested rape kits. And Memphis is just the latest in a long list of cities uncovering rape kit backlogs—first New York and Los Angeles, then Detroit and Houston, now Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Mobile, Phoenix and San Antonio. This is the moment to ENDTHEBACKLOG.
Introducing the new ENDTHEBACKLOG.org
We're proud to share the new www.ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, our website dedicated to shining a light on and ending the rape kit backlog—hundreds of thousands of rape kits collected in the aftermath of a sexual assault, sitting untested in police and crime lab storage facilities.
Turn Headlines Into Action
Recent news headlines this summer have been full of harrowing cases of sexual assault and domestic violence, reminding us that there is so much yet to be done. Help us turn headlines into action.
Urge Congress to Fund Testing of Rape Kits
This month, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate advanced spending bills that include $117 million in grants that would help states and local governments to test backlogged DNA samples. We must tell our representatives to make this funding a priority.
Cleveland police join cities nationwide testing old evidence from sexual-assault cases
More than two years ago, Cleveland police started an ambitious project to account for thousands of pieces of evidence in sexual assault cases going back at least 20 years. In doing so, they join a growing number of cities across America that are testing old evidence that has the potential to solve cold cases and offer some solace for victims, even in cases that can't be prosecuted.
