Pillar: Implement Tracking System

Tracking rape kits is crucial to holding hospitals, law enforcement, and state labs accountable. It ensures they are following the laws dictating processing timelines for rape kits. Tracking systems provide for a comprehensive analysis of total rape kits in a state, showing how many are in possession of the hospital, in law enforcement custody, and sitting at state labs either awaiting testing or that have been tested. States should create and implement a statewide tracking system to follow the path of a rape kit throughout the chain of command: from the hospital, to the local law enforcement agency, throughout the analysis process at the lab, and to final disposition.

All tracking systems should include a secure victim access portal through which survivors can obtain information about their kit and receive critical updates.

Establishing a rape kit tracking system is a step toward increasing rape kit handling accountability and transparency. Ensuring all stakeholders in the criminal justice process can know the location and status of all newly collected rape kits will bring clarity to evidence kit processing and prevent a backlog from happening again.

While this pillar can be best accomplished through legislative action, it can also be satisfied through executive direction.

The following states and Washington, D.C. have committed to establishing a rape kit tracking system:

Joyful Heart works with state legislators to enact comprehensive rape kit legislation based on six pillars of reform. We have created model legislation, offering a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach to rape kit reform at the state level. Click here to learn more.