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California bill to count rape kit backlog won’t impact SFPD
Through public records requests, End the Backlog estimates that more than 13,000 kits are sitting untested on the shelves of California law enforcement—but it still won’t have a complete number unless jurisdictions are mandated to have them.
The Me Too movement has changed our culture. Now it’s changing our laws.
The Me Too movement has touched almost every industry in the past year, and state legislatures have been under growing pressure to curb sexual assault and harassment in private workplaces and within their own chambers. But has the reckoning had an impact on the law?
Early signs point to yes.
New State Laws To End The Untested Rape Kit Backlog
During its second year, Joyful Heart’s national campaign to pass comprehensive rape kit reform continued to build momentum. Since January, an exceptional 46 rape kit reform bills were introduced in 24 states. We worked with partners in 11 states and helped lawmakers amend several drafts of legislation. As a result, we celebrate 15 states passing 14 rape kit reform laws that include one or more of our six pillars.
Pair of bills to tackle California's rape kit backlog pass legislature
California legislators this week set aside partisanship to move toward reducing the state’s backlog of untested rape kits, with both houses passing separate bills targeting the problem.
While California may have a reputation for progressive policies and a history of tough-on-crime laws, Los Angeles and L.A. County at one point had 12,000 untested rape kits, which law enforcement only caught up on in 2011.
Minnesota's rape kit reform bill becomes law as Duluth passes a milestone on its backlog
In Minnesota's most ambitious effort to process untested rape kits, the Duluth Police Department has eliminated its entire backlog and submitted 415 kits for laboratory testing, a step that could open the door to justice for scores of sexual assault victims.
The kits, sitting in storage for as long as 25 years, were inventoried in 2015 after the Legislature ordered a one-time audit of all untested kits held by law enforcement agencies across the state. Departments reported more than 3,400 untested kits; Duluth had the most, with more than 550.
May 25 Is landmark day for bills that target backlog of untested rape kits
On May 25, the state Senate Appropriations Committee will decide whether to advance two bills that would demand the speedy testing of California’s large backlog of rape kits and the timely testing of all newly collected rape kits.
AB3118 requires the first-ever statewide inventory of untested rape kits in California. At present, state officials have no idea how many kits are sitting on shelves across the state.
Miss North Carolina USA: Advocating for Change
Caelynn Miller-Keyes is Miss North Carolina USA 2018. She received a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University and currently works as a mentor to young girls at Windy Gap, a Young Life camp in Weaverville. As Miss North Carolina USA she is committed to improving policies for sexual assault survivors and inspiring other survivors who want to share their experience.
I AM EVIDENCE examines problem of untested rape kits
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.
Mariska Hargitay’s new documentary shines light on epidemic of untested rape kits
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.
The rape kit backlog shows exactly how we regard women in this country
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.
