The cornerstone of our Advocacy work [1] is our effort to end the backlog of untested rape kits. Across the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits—each possibly containing DNA evidence collected from a survivor's body in the aftermath of a rape.
Over the course of this past year, our national efforts to ENDTHEBACKLOG have grown significantly due to the partnerships Joyful Heart has formed with jurisdictions and stakeholders from the public and private sectors; ENDTHEBACKLOG.org [2], our premier website on information about the backlog; and significant investments in our media and awareness strategy around this issue [3].
Local Partnership to ENDTHEBACKLOG
In 2009, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office discovered 11,341 untested rape kits sitting in a Detroit Police Department storage facility, representing—at the time— the largest known backlog in the United States and thousands of lost opportunities for healing and justice for survivors. For three years, Joyful Heart has been part of the collaborative partnership [4] in a National Institute of Justice-funded program to assess the causes of Detroit’s backlog and develop a plan to end it. Though the grant program concluded in November 2013, Joyful Heart continues to be a partner in Detroit, joining prosecutors, law enforcement, researchers, city officials and advocates to continue to implement a plan for testing Detroit’s remaining untested kits, investigate all leads generated as a result of testing and ensure that the survivors are notified of the status of their cases.
Next Section: Partnership in Detroit [5] | Back to Table of Contents [6]
Today, more than $4 million in state funds has been granted to Detroit to end its backlog. $150,000 has been raised in private funds to investigate leads and prosecute these crimes— a third of which has been solicited by Joyful Heart. 2,000 kits have been tested and 127 potential serial rapists identified. Michigan just enacted important legislation that mandates jurisdictions throughout the state to test all newly collected rape kits, an important step to prevent future backlogs.
In March, the Joyful Heart team, including Mariska, was honored to visit Detroit to celebrate this progress and address the work that is yet to come [48]. Our visit included an event to help raise the funds needed for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office to fully investigate and prosecute leads generated from rape kit testing; an educational visit and speech by Mariska to members of the Michigan legislature; and a press conference to update the community on the incredible progress being made in Detroit. Mariska also announced that she will be producing a documentary about the rape kit backlog, called Shelved, for which Joyful Heart will serve as a social action partner, counsel and beneficiary of the film. But the true highlight of our visit was meeting with the deeply dedicated community members who are putting not just their time and expertise—but their hearts—into ending Detroit's backlog.
Prosecutors anticipate that nearly 3,000 new cases will be generated from testing Detroit’s nearly 10,000 remaining kits. As they move forward into investigation, Joyful Heart will continue to advocate for funds and reform so that prosecutors have the resources they need to follow up on these cases and survivors can get the healing and justice they deserve. We will work with our local partners to ensure victim notification continues to be conducted with expertise, compassion and care. And we will continue to shine a bright light on Detroit to demonstrate to officials and lawmakers in other cities, states and the federal government that if Detroit can end its backlog, they can too.
“It feels so good to know that I may have been a victim, but I am now a survivor. Knowing my attacker is in prison is such a relief. My faith in the justice system is being restored. That chapter of my life is finally closed and I hope that thousands of other women will have the chance I did.”
- Survivor whose rape kit was
part of Detroit’s backlog
Next Section: Partnership in Memphis [49] | Back to Table of Contents [6]
In July 2013, the City of Memphis announced that it had a backlog of 12,164 untested rape kits—currently the largest known backlog in a city in the United States. Immediately upon discovering the backlog, the Mayor’s Office called Joyful Heart, asking for help. We deployed our Policy & Advocacy team to the city to meet with local stakeholders about how the backlog started, but more importantly, how to end it moving forward.
Since then, Joyful Heart has visited Memphis several times. We have met with local officials, law enforcement, prosecutors and advocates to provide guidance and recommendations, including the convening of a multi-disciplinary team—much like that in Detroit—that has come together to address the backlog. We have shared information on funding opportunities to secure the $6.5 million needed to test the kits, including state grants, federal programs and private funding opportunities. And we are advising Memphis on how to re-engage survivors in their cases and the criminal justice process after so many years. We are providing all these services without compensation to maintain our neutrality and objectivity.
Since the discovery of the untested kits, Memphis has secured a $500,000 grant from the Tennessee State Office of Criminal Justice Programs, $1.5 million from the Memphis City Council, as well as a $1 million commitment from the City Council to build a facility for properly storing rape kit evidence. The city has also received a $750,000 challenge grant from a local foundation for rape kit testing. A new law has been enacted in Tennessee that would require all jurisdictions in the state to conduct an inventory of their untested kits. In Memphis, 2,226 kits have undergone preliminary screening at a crime lab so far. 75 kits have been tested. 126 investigations have been opened and 18 indictments have been issued.