If you are new to the rape kit backlogs and or feeling powerless, here is some context for how horrible the situation from an initiative in Ohio in 2015 to clear out the backlog AND information about an organization that is still working to resolve it nationwide.

If you are new to the world of rape kits and/or feeling powerless watching this storyline, I want to offer a resource. I am in no way affiliated with this organization in any way. I learned about them from an article I'm linking below and used to donate to them before I was on disability.

I also want to make clear that I 38f, have not been sexually assaulted and cannot speak to that pain. But I have massive empathy and anger for everyone who has to live with this pain every day.

This story broke in 2018 about the number of untested rape kits in Ohio and a push to clear them all out.

"Forensic scientists with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) have now analyzed all 13,931 rape kits submitted by local law enforcement for DNA testing as part of Attorney General DeWine’s Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Testing Initiative.  A total of 8,648 DNA profiles have been uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) as a result of the testing, and 5,024 matches to offender DNA and/or DNA collected from the scenes of other crimes have occurred to-date. Charges have been filed against hundreds of attackers."

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine Announces Completion of Sexual Assault Kit Testing Initiative

You can also read the transcript with Terry Gross of NPR and Rachel Dissel talking about the project.

"This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Many rapists who were never convicted might have been if only there had been follow-up on the evidence that was collected. When a woman is raped, she has the option of having a nurse collect forensic evidence in what's known as a rape kit, which includes evidence that might reveal the rapist's DNA.

My guest, Rachel Dissell, discovered that in her state, Ohio, thousands of rape kits, dating back to 1993, were being stored, untested, with no follow-up. Rapists who might've been convicted were free to assault other women. Dissell's investigation with her colleague Leila Atassi on sexual assaults and the backlog of rape kits led to a new law in Ohio mandating that old and new kits be tested. Other states are starting to adopt similar laws and can learn from Ohio's experiences. Dissell has spent five years investigating sexual assaults and rape kits, and she isn't done yet. She is a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer."

Reporting On Rape Kit Backlog Leads To New Law And Arrests In Ohio (2015)

And finally, this is a resource that is dedicated to clearing out the massive backlog of rape kits.

End the Backlog

"Since 2010, when Joyful Heart made the rape kit backlog its top advocacy priority, the End the Backlog project has shed light on the dismaying scope of the backlog, the incontrovertible urgency of testing rape kit evidence, and the political changes necessary to achieve comprehensive rape kit reform."