Anonymous Rape Tests to Protect Victims

Victims who are reluctant to report being raped to the police will be able to take an anonymous forensic rape examination and preserve the evidence in case they change their mind later, thanks to a new federal policy. Beginning next year, law enforcement agencies will pay the costs for the "Jane Doe rape kits" or face the loss of federal funding.

Many rape victims are too frightened or too ashamed to report the crime to police. Currently, most jurisdictions refuse to pay for the forensic rape exam unless the victim agrees to file a police report. Therefore many victims fail to undergo the testing that would preserve hair, semen and other DNA evidence.

Gaining Time to Decide

The new federal policy is aimed a removing that obstacle. Victims can undergo the exam and have the evidence maintained in an anonymous file while they decide whether or not to report the incident to police.

"Sometimes the issue of actually having to make a report to police can be a barrier to victims, and this will allow that barrier to cease, to allow the victim to think about it before deciding whether to talk to police," Carey Goryl, executive director of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, told reporters.

The Jane Doe rape kit collects the same evidence that regular rape exams do, but the evidence are then sealed in an envelope with only a number on the outside. The envelope is not opened by police unless the victim decides to press charges.

Withholding Federal Funds

Currently, only the state of Massachusetts and a few scattered clinics, colleges and hospitals around the country offer the anonymous rape kits. The U.S. Justice Department plans to make the practice more widespread by withholding funding under the federal Violence Against Women Act for jurisdictions that do not offer the Jane Doe rape kits.

Advocates hope the availability of the anonymous rape exams will give victims more options and choices not currently available. The Justice Department says that 272,350 sexual assaults were reported in 2006 and they estimate that almost 60 percent of rapes are never reported.

See Also:
Anonymous Rape Tests Are Going Nationwide

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