For Immediate Release: June 6, 2022
Contact: Olivia Hall, media@endthebacklog.org
NEW YORK – Today, the Joyful Heart Foundation, a leading national organization working to eliminate the nation’s untested rape kit backlog, applauds the New York legislature, Senator Biaggi, Assemblywoman Paulin, and Speaker Heastie for shepherding S.7867A into law. This bill, when signed, will require the Division of Criminal Justice Services to create a statewide electronic tracking system for sexual assault kits and include a portal that allows survivors to access important information about their kits.
“This bill would not only increase transparency in the rape kit handling process, it will give survivors valuable information that is vital to their healing journey,” says Ilse Knecht, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Joyful Heart foundation. “The passage of this bill furthers the reformation of the exisiting rape kit handling process into a more transparent system that truly serves all New Yorkers and gives survivors access to a crucial tool they need in order to heal on their own terms.”
In the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault, a survivor may choose to undergo a forensic medical examination to collect any evidence left behind in the assault. The resulting evidence is commonly referred to as a rape kit. The passage of S.7867A ensures that survivors and criminal justice stakeholders in New York will know the location and status of all newly collected kits, bringing transparency and accountability to this often opaque process.
The implementation of this tracking system also includes a portal for survivors to check on the status of their kit at their convenience. Sexual assault survivors deserve information about their rape kits, and all too often, survivors leave the hospital and never hear about their rape kit again. In fact, Joyful Heart’s research in 2016 found that knowing where their rape kit is in the testing process is central to victims’ healing and can help counter the loss of self-determination and control at the core of the sexual assault experience.
The governor is expected to sign the bill. With the signing of S.7867A, New York will have fulfilled all of Joyful Heart’s six pillars of rape kit reform.
If you would like an interview or additional comment by Ilse Knecht, please contact me to set up an interview. Additionally, you can learn more about our legislative efforts in New York at http://www.endthebacklog.org/New-York.
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The mission of the Joyful Heart Foundation is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever. www.joyfulheartfoundation.org