We must create a system that recognizes that most survivors don’t report to law enforcement, when they do it’s delayed, and many do not choose to participate in the criminal justice process. It’s time for a trauma-informed victim compensation laws that accurately reflect sexual assault surviors’ reality and healing process.
As the globe shouldered another Covid year in 2021, the shadow pandemic of the increased number of sexual assault and domestic violence cases created major safety concerns for women, children, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color. The labs also got busy with testing for Covid, leaving fewer resources for rape kits. Despite the capacity challenges and increasing number of sexual assault cases, legislators introduced 56 bills in 33 states to achieve one or more of Joyful Heart’s six pillars of legislative reform to count, test, and track rape kits, and grant rights to survivors.
Since then, we have helped legislators in all fifty states create over 110 laws, based on our six pillars of rape kit reform. However, our work has only just begun. Though many of these laws make great strides in rape kit reform, we have found that sometimes certain organizational and verbiage flaws cause loopholes that do not serve survivors or law enforcement and end up leaving offenders on the streets.
“I waited 32 fear and anxiety-filled years to hear anything about my kit and my case, and I know others are experiencing that tragedy right now. My heart aches for them,” said Gail Gardner, a survivor from Florida who was kept in the dark about her rape kit for over three decades. Today, a bill […]
Though there were many challenges and setbacks, 2020 was an exceptional year. We are thankful that despite the devastating effects of the pandemic and states’ shifting legislative priorities to health and economic recovery bills, our work to end the backlog and support survivors continued to move forward. Twenty three states introduced 46 bills that would […]
THE JOYFUL HEART FOUNDATION WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL TOM MILLER OF IOWA The author of this post is Attorney General Tom Miller of Iowa. In 2016 the state carried out a comprehensive inventory of sexual assault kits. In this post, AG Miller walks us through the inventory process and talks about the implementation of a rape […]
Since 2010, ending the rape kit backlog has been the top advocacy priority of the Joyful Heart Foundation. In 2016, Joyful Heart launched a national campaign to eliminate the backlog based on six pillars of reform. The campaign has been incredibly successful, with reform spreading across the country. In fact, 43 states have passed at […]
Ending the rape kit backlog will take a coordinated effort and deep commitment at all levels of government. Throughout the country, State Attorneys General have joined this effort to take action to address their state’s backlogs of untested rape kits. These actions have made communities safer and helped to bring justice for survivors. The initiatives […]
THE JOYFUL HEART FOUNDATION WITH AUDITOR GENERAL EUGENE DEPASQUALE OF PENNSYLVANIA The author of this post is Auditor General Eugene DePasquale of Pennsylvania. In 2016, Auditor General DePasquale issued a special report describing the backlog problem in the state and issues of non-compliance of a rape kit inventory law passed in the state in 2015. […]
