Today’s guest author is Eugene DePasquale, who was sworn in for a second term as Pennsylvania’s 51st auditor general on January 17, 2017. During his first term, DePasquale’s work helped protect children from abuse, end the backlog of untested rape kits, and ensure seniors have access to the services they need. In addition, his audits […]
Gov. Cuomo Signed Much-Needed Bill Today For Immediate Release: November 29, 2016Contact: Melissa Schwartz, media@endthebacklog.org NEW YORK – The Joyful Heart Foundation, a leader in the effort to provide cities and states with the resources they need to address their backlog of rape kits, today applauded New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s signing of New […]
Today’s guest author is Representative Scott Holcomb, the champion of Georgia’s landmark 2016 rape kit reform bill. Here, Rep. Holcomb shares how rape kit reform came to pass in Georgia. For several years, I was aware of the rape kit backlog issue across the country. In 2015, I began questioning if it was an issue […]
In recent months, officials in seven states have counted the number of untested rape kits in law enforcement evidence facilities, and reported partial or complete audit results. Their findings? Nearly 24,000 untested rape kits. This number would be shocking, if we had not seen similar results across the country: when officials go in to count […]
Encourages State to Continue Work on Comprehensive Reform For Immediate Release: October 20, 2016Contact: Melissa Schwartz, media@endthebacklog.org NEW YORK – The Joyful Heart Foundation, a leader in the effort to provide cities and states with the resources they need to address their backlog of rape kits, today applauded Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s signing of H.4364, […]
This year, we saw incredible progress in the movement to address the untested rape kit backlog and to ensure justice for sexual assault survivors. In 2016, rape kit reform bills were introduced in 21 states, and 13 states across the country have enacted legislation to date. In addition, rape kit reform legislation is pending in Massachusetts, […]
Major cities like Cleveland, Detroit, and Memphis have discovered thousands of backlogged kits in storage, and taken action. These jurisdictions started testing their kits, submitting eligible DNA profiles into the national database (CODIS), and investigating and prosecuting resulting cases. As of August 2016, testing these backlogged rape kits has resulted in the identification of over […]
“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 […]
By Sophie Cocke for The Honolulu Star Advertiser All four of Hawaii’s county police departments have failed to comply with a Sept. 1 statutory deadline requiring them to report to the attorney general’s office the number of untested rape kits they have in storage and the dates the forensic evidence was collected from alleged victims […]
