Sexual Assault Kits and Reforming the Response to Rape

Introduction
RACHEL E. LOVELL AND JENNIFER LANGHINRICHSEN-ROHLING

SECTION I
How did we get here? Revisiting the past

1 “On the shelves, covered in dust”: The history of untested sexual assault kits in the United States
REBECCA CAMPBELL AND HANNAH FEENEY

2 Where’s my kit? An overview of attrition in sexual assault cases
KATHRYN A. MCGILL, KIMBERLY PUSEY, AND SARAH KOON-MAGNIN

3 Understanding sexual assault disclosure: Victim decision-making processes underlying the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative
JENNIFER LANGHINRICHSEN-ROHLING, BRIDGET JULES, EMMA C. LATHAN, C. AUSTIN COATES, AND RACHEL CRISLER

4 Sexual assault of women of color: Establishing an equitable and culturally specific response
TERESA M. STAFFORD

5 A survivor’s perspective: My sexual assault kit was part of the backlog
NATASHA SIMONE ALEXENKO

SECTION II
Where are we now? Present reform efforts

6 SAKI training and technical assistance: Partnering with SAKI sites for success
PATRICIA A. MELTON AND AMANDA R. YOUNG

7 Advancing our understanding of sexual assault offenders
RACHEL E. LOVELL, ANGELA WILLIAMSON, TIMOTHY G. KEEL, THOMAS DOVER, AND MARY WESTON

8 Current issues in understanding sexual victimization
VERONIQUE N. VALLIERE

9 Current victim notification procedures: Victim and process impacts across two SAKI sites
HEATHER C. MELTON, EMMA C. LATHAN, AND JENNIFER LANGHINRICHSEN-ROHLING

10 Transforming police response to sexual assault from the inside out: A case study of the Mobile, Alabama, sexual assault kit promise initiative
JENNIFER LANGHINRICHSEN-ROHLING, EMMA C. LATHAN, TRES STEFURAK, AND JESSICA DUNCAN

11 Seeking justice through sexual violence prosecutions
JENNIFER GENTILE LONG, PATRICIA D. POWERS, HOLLY FUHRMAN, AND JENNIFER NEWMAN

12 Current trends in sexual assault medical forensic exams and examiners
JULIE L. VALENTINE AND NANCY R. DOWNING

13 Current trends with anonymous reporting: Lessons learned from Duluth, Minnesota
MARY FAULKNER

14 Current issues in providing sexual assault medical forensic exams in rural areas
BRIDGET DIAMOND-WELCH, MATTIE JONES, AND BRIANNA ZIMMER

15 Caring for sexual assault victim-survivors on college campuses
CANDICE N. SELWYN, CAROLYN DOLAN, SARAH KOON-MAGNIN, TRES STEFURAK, AND ALISON RUDD

16 Behind the scenes of the forensic lab: Forensic decision-making for sexual assault kit testing
CHARLOTTE LOPEZ-JAUFFRET

17 Current understanding of the cost-effectiveness of testing sexual assault kits
PAUL J. SPEAKER

18 Eliminating the rape kit backlog: Federal and state legislative responses
ILSE KNECHT, MATEO CELLO, AND BURCU SAGIROGLU

SECTION III
Where do we want to be? Envisioning a future reformed response

19 Advancements in trauma-informed training and interviewing for law enforcement and prosecutors
BRADLEY A. CAMPBELL

20 The notification for victims of assault (NoVA): Innovating future practice through a change process
CAITLIN SULLEY, MARGARET BASSETT, YULANDA MCCARTY-HARRIS, MELANIE SUSSWEIN, AND NOËL BUSCH-ARMENDARIZ

21 Envisioning an effective multidisciplinary sexual assault response: The importance of standards, partnerships, and measurable outcomes
KEVIN J. STROM, JIM MARKEY, HANNAH FEENEY, AND TOM SCOTT

22 Washington State’s external case review program: Examining the law enforcement and prosecutorial response to sexual assault cases
ANTOINETTE BONSIGNORE

23 Memphis works to envision a better public health response to sexual assault: Community engagement, prevention, and awareness messaging to change attitudes and behavior
DEBORAH M. CLUBB

24 Envisioning a better victim response: Survivor-centered advocacy, destigmatization, collaboration, and accountability
MARGARET J. MCGUIRE, DANIELLE B. SABO, AND JOANNA KLINGENSTEIN

25 Making progress: Putting the past, present, and future together to promote needed reform
JENNIFER LANGHINRICHSEN-ROHLING, RACHEL E. LOVELL, AND BRIDGET JULES

Biography

Rachel E. Lovell (PhD, Sociology, The Ohio State University) is an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Director of the Criminology Research Center at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is an applied criminologist and methodologist whose research focuses on gender-based violence and victimization, particularly sexual assault, human trafficking, and intimate partner violence.

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling (PhD, Clinical-Community Psychology, University of Oregon) is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of North Carolina—Charlotte. She is core faculty in the Clinical Health concentration of the Health Psychology PhD program and a licensed clinical psychologist in North Carolina.

"This book tackles a terrible injustice—the inexcusable backlog of untested sexual assault kits, the results of examinations of victims after a sexual assault. With passion and scientific clarity, the authors document the extent of this problem, analyze the reasons for this neglect, and propose viable solutions to improve the use of sexual assault kits to identify and prosecute sex offenders. The first-person accounts and examples from the field are especially compelling. A must read for anyone working in the sexual assault field and a text that will be a great introduction for students."

Sherry Hamby, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, University of the South and Founder and Director of Life Paths Research Center

"This comprehensive and excellent book goes much further than just dealing with sexual assault kits (SAKs). The lack of sufficient analyses and utilization of SAKs represents the inadequate importance placed on the issues of sexual victimization in general that have too long been a low priority in societies worldwide. This book focuses on key aspects that allow the continuation of such traumatic victimization, but then the many chapters also include ways to change our systems to actually have an effect on reducing such profound interpersonal victimization that too long has been underemphasized. I strongly recommend this book and the excellent editors!"

Robert Geffner, PhD, ABPP, Founding President Family Violence & Sexual Assault Institute dba Institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA