How can we end the backlog?

Join us as we partner with law enforcement, advocates, survivors and the public as we work together to end the rape kit backlog.

Educate Yourself. Go to our resource page and learn more about the rape kit backlog in the United States.

Share That You Care. You may know from personal experience or that of a loved one that not every rape kit is tested. You may have already read about this issue or heard about it from friends. Or you may be coming to this issue for the first time. However you arrived at this awareness, your conviction to take action will make all the difference.

One way to affect change is to let others know about the rape kit backlog. Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers-everyone you know-that at present, there are close to 200,000 untested rape kits in this country. Each one represents a victim who deserves justice. By talking about this issue, by sharing it on Facebook and Twitter, by making a loud and joyful noise, you are lending your voice to the call to end the rape kit backlog in this country.

Tell Your Elected Officials That You Want to End the Backlog. Click here to send a letter to your elected officials. Let them know that you want them to:

give cops and prosecutors the training and the tools they need to do their jobs;

give crime labs the resources they need to test more rape kits and prevent backlogs;

encourage law enforcement-after a victim has given her consent-to send in all rape kits for testing;

ensure that victims are met with most expert, compassionate care in hospitals; this means increasing the number of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Programs across the country;

determine how big the backlog is, so we can determine how to fix it;

use technology to track rape kits;

keep the victim at the center of all reforms; and

engage in public awareness and education efforts to address attitudes and bias about rape victims.