Rape kit


A rape kit or rape test kit is a package of items used by medical, police or other personnel for gathering and preserving physical evidence following an instance or allegation of sexual assault. The evidence collected from the victim can aid the criminal rape investigation and the prosecution of a suspected assailant. DNA evidence can have tremendous utility for sexual assault investigations and prosecution by identifying offenders, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused.
The kit was developed in Chicago in the mid-1970s, in order to provide a more uniform protocol for evidence collection after sexual assaults. While Louis R. Vitullo is frequently credited as the developer of the first kit, it was originally researched and proposed to Vitullo by Martha 'Marty' Goddard, who was a victim advocate and founder of Chicago's Citizens for Victims Assistance organization, and herself a sexual assault survivor. For years, the standardized tool was referred to as a Vitullo kit. Today it is colloquially referred to as a rape test kit or a rape kit, which are used interchangeably to refer to the specific evidence that is obtained through the use of the rape kit. Other terms and abbreviations used are sexual assault kit, a sexual assault forensic evidence kit, sexual assault evidence collection kit, sexual offense evidence collection kit and physical evidence recovery kit.

History

In the 1970s, after the women's movement had gained its first traction, and the media began to cover the reporting of rape and other forms of sexual assault, a sexual assault survivor named Martha Goddard embarked upon a crusade to create a comprehensive rape evidence collection kit and lobby for its adoption by law enforcement agencies. The lack of standardized protocol for correctly collecting such evidence, and the lack of understanding of or sympathy for those suffering the psychological trauma of such crimes meant that such evidence, when it was collected, was not preserved in a way that maintained its integrity. Goddard founded the Chicago-based Citizens Committee for Victim Assistance to address the issue, researching the process by consulting with medical professionals, law enforcement officials, members of the justice system, and scholars. Through her friendship with businesswoman Christie Hefner, Goddard acquired funding for the kits from Playboy Foundation, the charity founded by Hefner's father, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
The kit was first utilized in September 1978, according to a 1980 Chicago Tribune article, when 26 Cook County hospital emergency rooms incorporated its use into their standard practice for gathering trace evidence when treating rape victims. It consisted of a cardboard box containing items including swabs, slides and a small comb, and instructions for using them. Less than two years later, 215 hospitals across Illinois were using it.
The kit became known as "Vitullo kit" after Chicago police sergeant Louis Vitullo, the Chicago crime lab's chief microanalyst who worked on high-profile cases. This designation came about at Vitullo's insistence because, according to Vitullo's colleague, Marian Caporusso, forensic experts had "the final say-so for a lot of the design features." As a result, the press described the effort to create and implement the kits as a collaboration between Vitullo and Goddard.
Based upon the effective use of the kits in Chicago, New York City adopted Goddard's kit system in 1982. In 1984, Goddard gave a presentation about the Chicago pilot project at an FBI conference. Based on her presentation, the Department of Justice provided Goddard with funding to travel to help other states begin their own rape kit pilot programs.
In a 2003 interview, Goddard related that through her work in a Chicago teen crisis center, she learned about the very low rate at which rapes resulted in prosecutions.

Description and use

Kit contents

A rape kit consists of small boxes, microscope slides and plastic bags for collecting and storing evidence such as clothing fibers, hairs, saliva, blood, semen or body fluid.
Rape kits vary by location, but commonly include the following items:
  • Instructions
  • Bags and sheets for evidence collection
  • Swabs for collecting fluids from the lips, penile opening, cheeks, thighs, vagina, anus, and buttocks
  • Sterile urine collection containers
  • Sterile sample containers
  • Blood collection devices
  • Comb used to collect hair and fiber from the victim's body
  • Clear glass slides
  • Self-sealing envelopes for preserving the victim's clothes, head hair, pubic hair, and blood samples
  • Nail pick for scraping debris from beneath the nails
  • White sheets to catch physical evidence stripped from the body
  • Documentation forms
  • Labels
  • Sterile water and saline

    Examiners

Rape kit examinations are performed by medical professionals, most commonly physicians and nurses. In some locations, examiners have received special training on performing sexual assault forensic exams. For example, many hospitals and health facilities in the United States and Canada have Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners who are trained to collect and preserve forensic evidence and to offer emotional support to the victim. According to the International Association of Forensic Nurses, the number of SANE programs has steadily increased throughout the world since its introduction in the United States in the 1970s. As of 2016, over 700 SANE programs exist in the United States, Canada, and Australia. SANEs were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2001. Japan has had a limited number of SANEs since as early as 2007.

Evidence collection

The process of collecting a rape kit is highly invasive and extremely time-consuming. The physical examination begins with the victim disrobing while standing on a large sheet of butcher paper, which collects any trace evidence that may fall from the victim's body or clothes. The victim's clothing is carefully examined for trace evidence before each garment is individually packaged with sheets of paper between folds to protect against cross-contamination.
Examiners then collect biological samples of semen, blood, saliva and other bodily fluids by swabbing the victim's genitals, rectum, mouth and body surfaces. Examiners also collect fingernail scrapings and pluck head and pubic hairs. If the facility has the means, and the victim consents, the examiner will also take photographs of genital injuries using a colposcope.
In addition to facilitating the collection of biological samples and injuries, the kit guides the documentation of the victim's medical history, emotional state, and account of the assault. The entire process of collecting the rape kit takes between 2.5 and 5 hours to complete. While the exam is going on, the victim has the right at any point to ask questions or stop the examination completely.

Testing

Upon completion, the rape kit is sealed and typically transferred to local law enforcement. In the United States, if the victim is undecided about reporting the rape, the kit may instead be stored at the exam facility or a law enforcement facility as an "anonymous" kit.
The law enforcement agency conducting the rape investigation can send the rape kit, in whole or in part, to the forensic science crime lab for analysis. Forensic scientists will try to develop a DNA profile of the assailant using the samples collected in the rape kit. If successful, the crime lab will search the DNA profile against the DNA profiles of convicted offenders and other crime scenes using a DNA database. For example, crime labs in the United States run DNA profiles through the three-tiered Combined DNA Index System, which was developed in 1990 and contains DNA profiles at the national, state, and local levels. Similarly, the need to solve sexual assault crimes in Brazil led the Forensic DNA Research Institute of Federal District Civil Police to create a DNA database in 1998 containing evidence specifically collected in sexual assault cases. DNA matches in such databases not only aid in identifying the assailant where unknown to the victim, but also may help determine whether the assailant is a serial rapist. These findings eventually may be made available for use in court.
In some cases, the rape kit does not yield DNA evidence and the forensic scientist is unable to develop a DNA profile of the assailant. This may be because the assailant did not leave DNA behind, or too much time passed before the victim had a rape kit exam performed, or the rape kit evidence may have been improperly collected, stored or handled. Due to the backlog of sexual assault cases, forensic scientists have been challenged with the task of determining how to process the sexual assault kits effectively and within the statute of limitation on assaults.
Damaged evidence is something that is common among rape kits because survivors of sexual assault typically desire to wash themselves as soon as possible following an attack. Prior to the exam, it is desired that patients avoid using the rest room, combing their hair, bathing, changing their clothes or cleaning up the scene of the assault. Most evidence needs to be collected within 72 hours to be viable, and patients are advised to either bring or wear the clothing they had on when attacked to the exam.

Influence on sexual assault cases

Rape kit evidence can aid the criminal rape investigation and the prosecution of a suspected assailant. It may also be used to exonerate the wrongly accused. The benefit of rape kit evidence depends in part on the character of the assault.

Stranger cases

In stranger sexual assault cases, the assailant is unknown to the victim. In such cases, rape kits may be instrumental in identifying the assailant through DNA profiling, which research suggests may help lead to an arrest. For example, a 2009 study examining sexual assault cases from two of 389 crime laboratories in the United States found that stranger-rape cases with forensic evidence were 24 times more likely to produce an arrest than stranger-rape cases without forensic evidence.
Stranger cases can take a longer time to identify the perpetrator because without forensic evidence, the case becomes significantly more difficult to prosecute. This is one of the main problems that many victims face when coming forward that they had been raped.