DIY rape kit startup's 23-year-old founder says she is a sexual assault survivor

[brooklynite]

Brooklyn Eagle

Despite not yet being available for purchase, the kit has sparked criticism from media outlets and elected officials as far away as Michigan. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a cease-and-desist letter to the startup’s headquarters and, in a statement released last Thursday, accused MeToo Kit’s founders of “shamelessly trying to take financial advantage of the ‘MeToo’ movement” and marketing a product that “appears destined to delay sexual assault victims from seeking prompt medical attention.”

Representatives from the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the New York Office of Victims Services and Rhode Island-based sexual assault prevention agency Day One have also blasted the startup.

“It seems implausible that a company would look to profit from a sexual assault, while also risking the loss of justice for victims, but that is exactly what MeToo Kit Company is doing,” a spokesperson for Day One said in a statement.

But MeToo Kit’s 23-year-old co-founder and CEO Madison Campbell says her motive for starting MeToo Kit was to help other survivors, not to take advantage of them. Campbell herself was a victim of sexual assault in college, she told the Brooklyn Eagle on Wednesday.

“I know how terrifying and traumatic being sexually assaulted is,” she said. “And I didn’t even want to touch myself after it happened, or go to anyone, or tell anyone about this. All I wanted to do was give survivors time to process their trauma. Even if it’s 24 hours or 72 hours, if you just give somebody time to process that traumatic event, they might be able to then go and file a police report, but by then the DNA can be completely degraded,” she said.

[qazplm135]

1. sorry for her experience but

this is a horrible, horrible idea on multiple levels.

[hlthe2b]

2. Issues: no chain of custody so virtually no legal use. No physical exam means no documentation

of trauma that might help to validate a rape allegation. If they could somehow surmount these issues, the idea itself is not a bad one.

[tymorial]

3. I don't see evidence that she's trying to profit on metoo

But I can't imagine that a self collected rape kit would hold up to scrutiny. Defense lawyers would question chain of custody, controls to prevent contamination etc. Not to mention the delay in reporting could result in an inconclusive physical exam and lost trace.

I am sorry for what this women went through and I will believe she is trying to do something to help (until shown otherwise) but this product will likely hinder prosecution. That would be tragic for victims.

[Act_of_Reparation]

4. I wish this was a viable solution.

But it's a terrible idea. No court in the country would take these seriously.

[msongs]

5. dna can be found on bodies for months, even ones discovered in fields months later nt