After Helena was released, she had a 13-day wait until more evidence turned up—her car, still covered in the dusty outline from where her body was plastered to the hood during her assault. After the police dispatched to handle her case had fulfilled their required duties, Helena waited again, this time for 13 years.
Tag: Rape Kits
Three Survivors are Suing the State of Texas for Mishandling Rape Cases
Amy Smith’s rape case was dismissed without her knowledge. Ten years later, she and two other survivors are suing the state of Texas for its systemic failure to take rape seriously.
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Amanda Nguyen Wants A Survivors’ Bill of Rights in Every State
Amanda Nguyen wrote the Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act after her own assault. It was added to the federal criminal code by President Obama and approved by unanimous vote in Congress in 2016—and on Tuesday, the Federal Judiciary Committee met to discuss its implementation.
Small Steps Toward Closing California’s Rape Kit Backlog
Thousands of rape kits sit untested and overlooked at police departments and crime lab storage facilities nationwide. According to a partial estimate by the End the Backlog Initiative, about 9,000 kits remain untested in California alone.
Ending the Rape Kit Backlog: What’s the Price of a Survivor’s Peace of Mind?
A nationwide investigation spearheaded by USA Today has found that at least 70,000 rape kits sit untested in laboratories around the country. While Detroit and other cities have made headlines for their determination to clear rape kit backlogs (in Detroit’s case, only after the Department of Justice found its police department guilty of “negative, victim-blaming beliefs” in 2008) this […]
Passing the Test: Cities Chip In to Reduce the Rape Kit Backlog
The following is from the latest Ms. To read the entire issue, get a print or digital subscription today! Helena Lazaro was washing the vintage Volkswagen Rabbit she had been gifted for her 17th birthday when a man appeared next to her, brandishing a knife. He forced her into the car and made her drive […]
NEWSFLASH: Biden Announces Millions to End Rape Kit Backlog
Vice President Joe Biden joined Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland Monday to announce that $41 million in funding from the federal budget will be used to test backlogged rape kits sitting in storage around the country. There are approximately 400,000 untested rape kits gathering dust in U.S. crime labs. (That’s considered a conservative estimate since police […]
Detroit Fundraises to Test Rape Kits
In an unprecedented initiative, the cash-strapped city of Detroit has partnered with two nonprofits to raise $10 million for testing its huge backlog of rape kits and conducting further investigations of rape cases. Five years ago, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office discovered 11,000 untested kits in a Detroit police storage unit, a few of which […]
California Moves to End Rape Kit Backlog
TRIGGER WARNING: DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT When someone is raped and wants the perpetrator caught and prosecuted, it’s essential that the victim provide forensic evidence of the assault to law enforcement. A “rape kit” is the collection of biological evidence that can lead to an identification of the perpetrator’s DNA. But tragically, rape kits are […]
NEWSFLASH: New York Commits $35 Million to Eliminating the Rape Kit Backlog
Earlier this week, New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced he will be allocating $35 million toward the elimination of untested rape kits across the country. In a press conference on Wednesday, Vance said the money will go towards testing rape kits and solving unsolved sex crimes—all to provide closure to survivors. When a rape kit […]