Victim Notification Protocols for Untested Sexual Assault Kits: Survivors’ and Advocates’ Perspectives on Law Enforcement-Led Outreach Methods

Current estimates suggest there are 300,000–400,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police department storage facilities throughout the United States. As these kits are being discovered and then submitted for forensic DNA testing, legal system personnel may recontact victims. These “victim no...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Campbell, Rebecca (Author) ; Gregory, Katie (Author) ; Goodman-Williams, Rachael (Author) ; Engleton, Jasmine (Author) ; Javorka, McKenzie (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Violence against women
Year: 2023, Volume: 29, Issue: 15/16, Pages: 3101-3125
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Trauma-informed
victim notification
Rape kits
Sexual assault kits
Description
Summary:Current estimates suggest there are 300,000–400,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police department storage facilities throughout the United States. As these kits are being discovered and then submitted for forensic DNA testing, legal system personnel may recontact victims. These “victim notifications” involve informing survivors their kits were previously untested, sharing the results of new DNA testing, and asking for their engagement in reinvestigating and prosecuting the case. Typically, victim notifications are conducted by police, and survivors are connected with victim advocates soon thereafter. In this study, we interviewed survivors about their experiences of being notified by the police. We also interviewed about their work supporting survivors. Both survivors and advocates expressed strong concerns about police conducting notifications without an advocate present.
ISSN:1552-8448
DOI:10.1177/10778012231200479