Sexual Assault Kits and Reforming the Response to Rape

Rachel E. Lovell (PhD, Sociology, The Ohio State University) is an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Director of the Criminology Research Center at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is an applied criminologist and methodologist whose research focuses on gender-based violence and victimization, particularly sexual assault, human trafficking, and intimate partner violence. Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling (PhD, Clinical-Community Psychology, University of Oregon) is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of North Carolina—Charlotte. She is core faculty in the Clinical Health concentration of the Health Psychology PhD program and a licensed clinical psychologist in North Carolina.

Introduction

Section 1: How did we get here?: Revisiting the past

Chapter 1: "On the Shelves, Covered in Dust": The History of Untested Sexual Assault Kits in the United States

Rebecca Campbell and Hannah Feeney

Chapter 2: Where’s My Kit?: An Overview of Attrition in Sexual Assault Cases

Kathryn A. McGill, Kimberly Pusey and Sarah Koon-Magnin

Chapter 3: Understanding Sexual Assault Disclosure: Victim Decision-Making Processes Underlying the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Bridget Jules, Emma C. Lathan, C. Austin Coates and Rachel Crisler

Chapter 4: Sexual Assault of Women of Color: Establishing an Equitable and Culturally Specific Response

Teresa Stafford

Chapter 5: A Survivor’s Perspective: My Sexual Assault Kit was Part of the Backlog

Natasha Simone Alexenko

Section 2: Where are we now?: Present Reform Efforts

Chapter 6: SAKI Training and Technical Assistance: Partnering with SAKI Sites for Success

Patricia A. Melton and Amanda R. Young

Chapter 7: Advancing Our Understanding of Sexual Assault Offenders

Rachel E. Lovell, Angela Williamson, Timothy Keel, Thomas Dover and Mary Weston

Chapter 8: Current Issues in Understanding Sexual Victimization

Veronique N. Valliere

Chapter 9: Current Victim Notification Procedures: Victim and Process Impacts Across Two SAKI Sites

Heather C. Melton, Emma C. Lathan and Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling

Chapter 10: Transforming Police Response to Sexual Assault from the Inside Out: A Case Study of the Mobile, Alabama Sexual Assault Kit Promise Initiative

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Emma C. Lathan, Tres Stefurak and Jessica Duncan

Chapter 11: Prosecutorial Response to Sexual Violence

Jennifer Long, Patricia Powers, Holly Fuhrman and Jennifer Newman

Chapter 12: Current Trends in Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Exams and Examiners

Julie L. Valentine and Nancy Downing

Chapter 13: Current Trends with Anonymous Reporting: Lessons Learned from Duluth, Minnesota

Mary Faulkner

Chapter 14: Current Issues with Providing Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Exams in Rural Areas

Bridget Diamond-Welch, Mattie Jones and Briana Zimmer

Chapter 15: Caring for Sexual Assault Victim-Survivors on College Campuses

Candice N. Selwyn, Carolyn Dolan, Sarah Koon-Magnin, Tres Stefurak and Allison Rudd

Chapter 16: Behind the Scenes of the Forensic Lab: Forensic Decision Making for Sexual Assault Kit Testing

Charlotte Lopez-Jauffret

Chapter 17: Current Understanding of the Cost-Effectiveness of Testing Sexual Assault Kits

Paul Speaker

Chapter 18: Eliminating the Rape Kit Backlog: Federal and State Legislative Responses

Ilse Knecht, Mateo Cello and Burcu Sagiroglu

Section 3: Where do we want to be?: Envisioning a future reformed response

Chapter 19: Advancements in Trauma-Informed Training and Interviewing for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors

Bradley A. Campbell

Chapter 20: The Notification for Victims of Assault (NoVA): Innovating Future Practice through a Change Process

Caitlin Sulley, Margaret Bassett, Yulanda McCarty-Harris, Melanie Susswein and Noël Busch-Armendariz

Chapter 21: Envisioning an Effective Multidisciplinary Sexual Assault Response: The Importance of Standards, Partnerships, and Measurable Outcomes

Kevin J. Strom, Jim Markey, Hannah Feeney and Tom Scott

Chapter 22: Washington State’s External Case Review Program: Examining the Law Enforcement and Prosecutorial Response to Sexual Assault Cases

Antionette Bonsignore

Chapter 23: Memphis Works to Envision a Better Public Health Response to Sexual Assault: Community Engagement, Prevention, and Awareness Messaging to Change Attitudes and Behavior

Deborah M. Clubb

Chapter 24: Envisioning a Better Victim Response: Survivor-Centered Advocacy, Destigmatization, Collaboration, and Accountability

Margaret J. McGuire, Danielle B. Sabo and Joanna Klingenstein

Chapter 25 : Making Progress: Putting the Past, Present, and Future Together to Promote Needed Reform

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Rachel Lovell and Bridget Jules