Today’s guest author is Wendy Davis, former Texas state senator and founder of the advocacy organization Deeds Not Words. Here, she discusses the rape kit reform laws she sponsored in the Senate and addresses the need for survivors’ voices to drive policy solutions. I first started working on the issue of sexual violence in 2009 […]
In late May, Joyful Heart staff had the honor of attending the annual Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) meeting in Washington, D.C. Once a year, teams from each grantee jurisdiction of both the SAKI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DANY) grant programs come together to discuss strategies for testing kits, investigating cases, prosecuting offenders, and […]
Last year, Joyful Heart launched a national policy campaign with an ambitious goal: to enact comprehensive rape kit reform in all 50 states. Over the past six months, we have seen an unprecedented number of rape kit reform bills introduced in state legislatures across the country. Joyful Heart measures rape kit reform through six key […]
Joyful Heart Foundation Founder and President Mariska Hargitay testified today on Capitol Hill before the new Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence about the national rape kit backlog. Chaired by U.S. Representatives Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Patrick Meehan (R-PA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and David Joyce (R-OH), the Task Force to End Sexual Violence unites […]
Danielle Tudor is a survivor and advocate from Oklahoma who has worked on rape kit reform legislation across multiple states. Most recently, she worked with stakeholders in Oklahoma and Governor Mary Fallin on an Executive Order establishing a task force to conduct a statewide audit of untested kits. Here, Danielle shares her experience collaborating with […]
On August 30, 1997, an 18-year-old woman was walking home from a friend’s house in Columbus, Ohio when a stranger violently attacked and raped her. She went to a hospital, had a rape kit collected, and reported the crime to police. The crime lab analyzed the kit and DNA evidence was obtained, but no further […]
It’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Organizations and advocates—who work every day to support survivors and raise awareness about sexual violence—are dedicating even more time this month to public education efforts, advocacy campaigns, and events to engage and energize communities to commit to ending this violence forever. Myths about sexual assault are all too common in […]
Katie Whisman (Executive Officer, Kansas Bureau of Investigation) leads the Kansas Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, a statewide multidisciplinary working group tasked with addressing the state’s existing backlog and developing standardized practices to improve the handling of rape kits. Here, Katie shares her experiences with the group, whose successes include achieving 100 percent law enforcement agency […]
When we launched The Accountability Project in 2014, we hoped to shed light on the backlog of untested rape kits in cities around the country. Counting backlogged kits—whether through a statewide audit, following media attention, or in response to a public records request from an advocacy organization—is the first step toward rape kit reform. Once […]
