RT Article
T1 Victim Notification Protocols for Untested Sexual Assault Kits: Survivors’ and Advocates’ Perspectives on Law Enforcement-Led Outreach Methods
JF Violence against women
VO 29
IS 15/16
SP 3101
OP 3125
A1 Campbell, Rebecca
A2 Gregory, Katie
A2 Goodman-Williams, Rachael
A2 Engleton, Jasmine
A2 Javorka, McKenzie
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1870622510
AB 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.
K1 Trauma-informed
K1 victim notification
K1 Rape kits
K1 Sexual assault kits
DO 10.1177/10778012231200479