From my years working at a rape crisis center I can confirm two things: 1) The people who administer rape kits are some of the greatest and most compassionate humans on the planet. and 2) Undergoing a rape kit is still a grueling, miserable experience. Imagine you've just been through an unthinkable trauma. Now you're spending hours being photographed, your hair is being pulled out (from your head and other places). You're being poked, prodded and scraped and you're being forced to tell your story over and over again. You give up your clothing - all knowing this is just the beginning of a long road that probably won't lead to justice. The men and women who choose to go through this are absolute warriors and those who don't have every reason not to. I look forward to reading the book - it is much needed.
so moving. I had no idea. Like I guess I just never wanted to imagine this vividly despite listening to friends' stories. But am now glad I have been enlightened. Than k you for this share and your past work.
I’m a former hospital advocate and a sexual violence researcher. I want to offer up an important correction on this essay:
Rape kits can’t “prove” rape. They offer evidence that there was physical contact between two people, but most rape kits aren’t particularly useful evidence in a courtroom, especially if the perpetrator’s identity was already known and he claims all contact was “consensual.” A lot of the time, victims go through the trauma of a rape kit just to learn the physical evidence wouldn’t actually matter much in their case. (That being said, the trauma-informed interview conducted by the SANE is much more useful evidence.)
In my research work, I’ve come across survivors who felt really betrayed by their rape kits because they had been misled to believe they could “prove” rape. In one case, the survivor’s rape kit documented bruising and strangulation, but it was still used by her perpetrator’s legal team as proof that all acts were consensual “kinks.” It broke the survivor’s heart to hear her SANE admit that consensual BDSM and injurious rape would produce the same rape kit. It made her wonder why she had put herself through it at all. I think that’s really important to acknowledge here.
What an interesting history and interview! There is something I'm struggling with and I'm not sure I can articulate it well. Also this isn't a critique of the book in any way, more about the idea of rape kits. I look forward to reading the book.
I think there are times in history when an invention seems to solve a problem without addressing the underlying cultural issue, which ends up creating even more issues.
In this case, the tape kit made rapes believable for a certain segment of mostly men who were now forced to acknowledge it could be proven. But it didn't address the fact that law enforcement has huge biases against women still built in, or that culturally, men still didn't want to believe women. It didn't fundamentally address patriarchy and it's biases that inhibited the true reduction of rape in society.
I haven't read the book yet, but the issues today of rape kit backlog, of rape kits not being used properly at trials, and in general of women still not being believed are still out growths of the same fundamental issue. Patriarchy still does not value women's choices and so women who cry rape are still treated as less than and pariahs.
For me, I just wonder (especially this year) how we do both. How do we invent things that create change AND strive to change the underlying cultural assumptions. Is that even possible?? Just throwing out existential questions today!
I'm really interested in this too. I spent a year inside university Title IX processes and one of my big takeaways is that no amount of evidence was enough for investigators. They always demanded victims do more and a lot of relevant evidence was cast aside because it didn't match institutional objectives. I actually dedicated a whole chapter (Never Enough Evidence) of my book (On the Wrong Side) to the issue.
It's really frustrating. It feels like we're always getting tricked into these new credibility tests that ultimately just set a higher bar. I've interviewed so many survivors who got the impression their cases fell apart because they're weren't willing to do absolutely every credibility test. But I've also interviewed plenty who did absolutely everything and it just didn't matter because decision makers didn't want to take action.
Very interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. My heart goes out to survivors who feel they didn't do enough. You're right, the bar keeps getting set higher. And even when women are believed, it doesn't always create change (see Blasey Ford or Chanel Miller).
That’s another big thing I found: believing isn’t enough. A lot of the time, decision makers place their sense of morality in giving perpetrators “second chances” and practicing “empathy” (a very one-sided empathy). In that case, they justify inaction even in cases where the violence is undeniable.
From my years working at a rape crisis center I can confirm two things: 1) The people who administer rape kits are some of the greatest and most compassionate humans on the planet. and 2) Undergoing a rape kit is still a grueling, miserable experience. Imagine you've just been through an unthinkable trauma. Now you're spending hours being photographed, your hair is being pulled out (from your head and other places). You're being poked, prodded and scraped and you're being forced to tell your story over and over again. You give up your clothing - all knowing this is just the beginning of a long road that probably won't lead to justice. The men and women who choose to go through this are absolute warriors and those who don't have every reason not to. I look forward to reading the book - it is much needed.
so moving. I had no idea. Like I guess I just never wanted to imagine this vividly despite listening to friends' stories. But am now glad I have been enlightened. Than k you for this share and your past work.
I’m a former hospital advocate and a sexual violence researcher. I want to offer up an important correction on this essay:
Rape kits can’t “prove” rape. They offer evidence that there was physical contact between two people, but most rape kits aren’t particularly useful evidence in a courtroom, especially if the perpetrator’s identity was already known and he claims all contact was “consensual.” A lot of the time, victims go through the trauma of a rape kit just to learn the physical evidence wouldn’t actually matter much in their case. (That being said, the trauma-informed interview conducted by the SANE is much more useful evidence.)
In my research work, I’ve come across survivors who felt really betrayed by their rape kits because they had been misled to believe they could “prove” rape. In one case, the survivor’s rape kit documented bruising and strangulation, but it was still used by her perpetrator’s legal team as proof that all acts were consensual “kinks.” It broke the survivor’s heart to hear her SANE admit that consensual BDSM and injurious rape would produce the same rape kit. It made her wonder why she had put herself through it at all. I think that’s really important to acknowledge here.
Thank you for this.
What an interesting history and interview! There is something I'm struggling with and I'm not sure I can articulate it well. Also this isn't a critique of the book in any way, more about the idea of rape kits. I look forward to reading the book.
I think there are times in history when an invention seems to solve a problem without addressing the underlying cultural issue, which ends up creating even more issues.
In this case, the tape kit made rapes believable for a certain segment of mostly men who were now forced to acknowledge it could be proven. But it didn't address the fact that law enforcement has huge biases against women still built in, or that culturally, men still didn't want to believe women. It didn't fundamentally address patriarchy and it's biases that inhibited the true reduction of rape in society.
I haven't read the book yet, but the issues today of rape kit backlog, of rape kits not being used properly at trials, and in general of women still not being believed are still out growths of the same fundamental issue. Patriarchy still does not value women's choices and so women who cry rape are still treated as less than and pariahs.
For me, I just wonder (especially this year) how we do both. How do we invent things that create change AND strive to change the underlying cultural assumptions. Is that even possible?? Just throwing out existential questions today!
I'm really interested in this too. I spent a year inside university Title IX processes and one of my big takeaways is that no amount of evidence was enough for investigators. They always demanded victims do more and a lot of relevant evidence was cast aside because it didn't match institutional objectives. I actually dedicated a whole chapter (Never Enough Evidence) of my book (On the Wrong Side) to the issue.
It's really frustrating. It feels like we're always getting tricked into these new credibility tests that ultimately just set a higher bar. I've interviewed so many survivors who got the impression their cases fell apart because they're weren't willing to do absolutely every credibility test. But I've also interviewed plenty who did absolutely everything and it just didn't matter because decision makers didn't want to take action.
Very interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. My heart goes out to survivors who feel they didn't do enough. You're right, the bar keeps getting set higher. And even when women are believed, it doesn't always create change (see Blasey Ford or Chanel Miller).
That’s another big thing I found: believing isn’t enough. A lot of the time, decision makers place their sense of morality in giving perpetrators “second chances” and practicing “empathy” (a very one-sided empathy). In that case, they justify inaction even in cases where the violence is undeniable.
It’s really heartbreaking.
As Kate Manne says, "him-pathy"
I cite her in the book! I’m glad “himpathy” is making into the public eye.
Read THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE RAPE KIT last week, an absolutely fascinating history!
SANE RNs are compassionate and caring. On another note: Time for American women to invest in RapeAxe https://theindexproject.org/award/nominees/694
This sounds fascinating and frustrating. I just put a hold on the book at my library! Thank you for sharing this story.
Fascinating. Utterly. So enlightening had to share to Bluesky. https://bsky.app/profile/fosterandflourish.bsky.social/post/3lgvpqpdb222h