Kamala Harris wants to bring her success in clearing rape kit backlogs to the rest of the nation

[bigtree]

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1 1h1 hour ago
Kamala Harris has a plan to spend $1 bil to push states to clear rape kit backlogs and invest in reforms, including requiring rape kits to be tested within narrow time frames, reporting untested rape kits, and updating victims on the status of their kits. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/11/politics/kamala-harris-rape-kit-backlog-proposal/index.html

(CNN) ____The first of its kind from a 2020 Democratic candidate, the California Democrat's plan would invest the money into states, allowing them to close their rape kit backlogs and prevent further buildups, within her first term as president if elected.

According to End the Backlog, a national non-profit organization, it costs on average $1,000 to $1,500 to test one kit. To receive the funding, states would have to implement various reforms like an annual count and report the number of untested kits, test newly-collected rape kits within a shortened time frame and track the status of kits.

In a statement Thursday, Harris says the federal government should take charge in providing justice for assault victims.

"The federal government can and should prioritize justice for survivors of sex abuse, assault and rape," Harris said. "As California's Attorney General, I committed resources and attention to clearing a backlog of 1,300 untested rape kits at state-run labs, and we got it done within my first year in office. We need the same focus at the national level to pursue justice and help hold predators accountable."

In January 2012, then-California Attorney General Harris announced that the state's Department of Justice had cleared its backlog and reduced the rape kit analysis time to 30 days, down from an average of 90 to 120 days. According to a 2012 press release from her office, she did so by introducing new technology including robotics to reduce the time it took for evidence analysis. She was awarded the US Department of Justice's Award for Professional Innovation in Victim Services for her work.


read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/11/politics/kamala-harris-rape-kit-backlog-proposal/index.html

Link to tweet

[snowybirdie]

1. Great work

but can this be mandated to the thousands of criminal jurisdictions across the country?

[bigtree]

3. yes

...at least temporarily with an EO.

from Bustle:

How Kamala Harris' Rape Kit Backlog Plan Tackles The Nationwide Crisis

According to her campaign, Harris' plan to end the rape kit backlog nationwide — within her first term as president if she's elected — would require states to carry out four reforms of their current system. To receive funding, states must:

-Count and report the number of untested rape kits each year,
-Submit and test all new rape kits "within a short time frame,"
-Track rape kits and allow survivors to know the status of them,
-Increase the availability of rape kits, including in rural or remote areas.

According to RAINN, not every hospital has a trained professional on hand to perform a rape kit when one is needed. And despite the fact that the Violence Against Women Act stipulates that states must pay for forensic sexual assault examinations, sometimes survivors are forced to pay hundreds of dollars for a rape kit because of the way hospitals bill for their services, Reuters reported in 2017.

Under Harris' plan, states would be able to either partner with the FBI to process kits or receive funding to process kits within the state.


from The State:

After the backlog was eliminated, the program would spend $100 million a year to ensure that kits can be tested in a timely fashion and prevent further back up in the system.

For states to qualify for federal program dollars, they would be required to count and report their backlog; submit and test all kits within a “short time frame,” though the campaign did not specify an exact time; track kits and allow victims to know their status; and increase the availability of kits across the state, with a focus of expanding to rural or remote areas.

If states don’t want the federal funding to eliminate the backlog, under Harris’ plan, they would have the option to team up with the FBI to process rape kits, according to the statement.

[mcar]

2. Good

This is an important issue.

[Bradical79]

4. Sounds good to me

Every candidate should take up this plan, imo.

BTW, I'm still disgusted over Dewine using rape kit testing as an attack against Cordray in the Gubernatorial race here in Ohio. After attention was drawn to the issue towards the end of Cordray's time as AG (when he lost AG to Dewine), he set up a plan to tackle it and got the ball rolling. Dewine basically picked up where he left off, but didn't clear out the backlog until he was campaigning for Governor (and most of the hard work was done by others). Dewine then claimed full credit, and blamed Cordray for the backlog in the first place.

[demmiblue]

5. K&R