According to a statistic we found in Time Magazine, "nearly one in five unsolved alleged sexual assaults from 2002 to 2007 involved untested forensic evidence."
Wait, what? Ok. Let's break this down.
First, by “forensic evidence” they're referring to a rape kit.
A “rape kit” is a very invasive procedure that aims to collect evidence of rape from a victim’s body. As you can imagine, It's not a pleasant experience. The whole event can take up to four hours, and involves poking, prodding, plucking, scraping and photographing the victim’s body for evidence.
As you may have guessed, these kits provide a lot of the evidence necessary for victims to prove their cases, so they kind of play a big role in court.
Now back to that one in five statistic ... In 2009, 11,000 kits were found untouched and untested in a warehouse in Detroit. No chill.
Six years later, authorities have finally discovered that these “forgotten” kits have been backlogged all over the country, not just in Detroit, meaning that more than 70,000 tests and cases have been put off for years.
New York's Attorney General Loretta Lynch told Time that the Justice Department will be spending $41 million to find out what exactly went down and why the kits remained untested. She told Time, "No victim's suffering should be extended one minute longer because of procedural issues."
Federal officials will be spending $80 million to finally get those kits tested and hopefully get the cases closed once and for all.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, call Elon University's SAFEline at: 336-278-3333 or visit this page for more information.