National Archives

New White House Grant Program Offers Resources, Proven Solutions to End the Rape Kit Backlog

President Obama’s FY15 budget provides communities with the most significant federal support yet to aid their efforts to address their rape kit backlogs, the Joyful Heart Foundation noted today in support of a new federal initiative. In his FY15 budget proposal, President Obama has – for the first time – allocated $35 million in dedicated funding to end the nationwide rape kit backlog at local law enforcement agencies.

Between the Cracks: Testing Past the Statute of Limitations

This is the second post in our new series, Between the Cracks, which explores the value of rape kit testing in cases in which kits are commonly not tested, among them: when the perpetrator is known, the statue of limitations has expired, someone has been convicted of the crime or the case was deemed “unfounded.” Click here […]

Introducing our new website

Joyful Heart is proud to share with you the new ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, our website dedicated to shining a light on and ending the rape kit backlog—hundreds of thousands of rape kits collected in the aftermath of a sexual assault, sitting untested in police and crime lab storage facilities. When we first launched this website more than […]

New Rape Kit Backlog Resource from the Joyful Heart Foundation

Every year, thousands of individuals report their rape to the police. Many are asked to have a rape kit collected, a process that can take four to six hours to complete. And yet, hundreds of thousands of times, a decision is made not to process the evidence.

Rape Kit Backlog Featured on the Katie Couric Show

During the September 23rd episode of The Katie Couric Show, a courageous survivor named Helena and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy appeared alongside actress and advocate Mariska Hargitay to shed light on the staggering national rape kit backlog and say NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual assault. Helena, whose story we’ve featured here before, […]

Interview with CBS Investigative Reporter Laura Strickler

I spoke with Laura Strickler, the Washington-based investigative producer for the Emmy-award winning CBS News Investigative Unit since 2006. Armen Keteyian and Laura Strickler’s five month investigation into untested rape kits nationwide uncovering 20,000 untested rape kits in various cities won the2010 Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, as well as the 2010 Gracie Award for […]