Today’s guest post comes from Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Patti Powers from Yakima County, Washington. When Patti is not seeking justice for survivors in the courtroom, she is also a national speaker and trainer. For survivors of sexual assault, regardless of the passage of time, there are no cold cases. Rape is a continuing source […]
Keli Rabon is an investigative reporter with Call7News in Denver, Colorado. Her work to uncover rape kit backlogs in both Denver and Memphis has led to policy changes and state laws, and has earned Keli numerous regional and national awards. Of her reporting on the backlog she has said: “Untested rape kits are one of […]
The Joyful Heart Foundation applauds today’s announcement by Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara A. Mikulski that the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies has included $41 million for a new community-based sexual assault response reform initiative in its FY15 spending bill. The initiative will provide a thorough approach that includes kit testing, investigation and prosecution of sexual assault crimes, training for law enforcement officers, and victim services.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider and vote on its FY15 spending bill for Commerce, Justice, and Science this week. In it, the House includes $36 million to address the rape kit backlog in police storage facilities.
Over the past several weeks, the colors of the ENDTHEBACKLOG map, which demonstrates everything we currently know about the rape kit backlog nationwide, have been changing. These changing colors represent the work legislators and communities across the country are doing to reform their states’ responses to the backlog. As we have reported previously, since January, […]
The U.S. House of Representatives has released its FY15 spending bill for Commerce, Justice, and Science. In it, the House Appropriations Committee has included $36 million to address the rape kit backlog in police storage facilities.
We the undersigned advocates who work with survivors of sexual assault to find healing and recovery, members of law enforcement who investigate their cases, and prosecutors who hold their perpetrators accountable, write today to ask that you join us in our effort to give survivors the justice they deserve. We urge Congress to prioritize the […]
Since 2009, Rachel Dissell and Leila Atassi have been covering the rape kit backlog for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Their investigative work has explored each facet of the criminal justice response to sexual violence—from rape kit testing to victim re-engagement to prosecution. Their reports have helped to uncover a backlog in Cleveland, to spread awareness […]
In striking recognition of the power of advocacy, ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, the Joyful Heart Foundation’s website devoted to shining a light on and ending the injustice of the rape kit backlog, has been nominated for a Webby Award for Best Activism website. ENDTHEBACKLOG.org was selected as a finalist out of more than 12,000 nominations received from around the world.
