“To me, the rape kit backlog is one of the clearest and most shocking demonstrations of how we regard these crimes in our society. For that reason, the Joyful Heart Foundation and I have made ending it our top priority. Earlier this month, I traveled o Hawai‘i —Joyful Heart’s birthplace—to join our partners in this work, learn more about what is happening on the ground, and offer my support and resources to shine a light on this work. We will continue to stand with survivors in Hawai‘i and across the nation to increase transparency, implement rape kit reform, and bring justice to survivors who have waited far too long.”
Mariska Hargitay, Joyful Heart Foundation Founder & President
At the end of this year’s legislative session, House Bill 1907—mandating the testing of all previously backlogged and untested rape kits, and the swift testing of all new kits—was passed unanimously by both chambers of the Hawai‘i legislature and later signed into law by Governor Ige. It was a momentous occasion for our community.
As significant as this legislation was, there is still much more to do to fully reform our state’s processing of rape kits.
The Honolulu Star Advertiser and Hawaii News Now reported this week that all four of Hawai‘i’s county police departments have missed the legislatively-mandated deadline for counting the number of untested kits in their storage facilities. As we told Mileka Lincoln at Hawaii News Now, Joyful Heart remains hopeful that the county police departments will fulfill their obligation. This is a crucial component of creating rape kit reform in our state.
Another essential component of reform is the report being developed by a workgroup of community stakeholders tasked with making recommendations about how to move forward. Because Joyful Heart was not invited to participate in this workgroup, we declined to comment on their process and findings until their report is complete. However, we look forward to reviewing the final recommendations, and we remain committed to contributing our national and local expertise.
Each kit represents a survivor who deserves justice. When tested, rape kit evidence can identify an unknown assailant, link crimes together, and identify serial offenders. Many communities’ rape kit testing efforts are taking violent offenders off the streets—many whom have escaped justice for decades—and improving public safety.
As our CEO, Maile Zambuto, has said, “It has been a historic moment for us to usher in rape kit reform in Hawai‘i, our birthplace, and we will continue moving forward together, in partnership with our local community, until every kit is tested.”
True change cannot come without collaboration and partnership, and we stand ready to serve to help bring justice to survivors in our state—and across the country.
– By Kata Issari, Joyful Heart Foundation Hawai‘i Executive Director.