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According to a report by the Associated Press, so-called Jane Doe rape kits will be given to rape victims who may be too afraid or too ashamed to go to police. The kits will allow the victims to undergo an emergency-room forensic rape exam. The evidence will be kept on file in a sealed envelope so the victim will have the option to press charges at a later date.
The new federal requirement that states pay for Jane Doe rape kits is aimed at removing one of the biggest obstacles to prosecuting rape cases – some women are so traumatized that they don’t come forward until it is too late to collect hair, semen or other samples.
“Sometimes the issue of actually having to make a report to police can be a barrier to victims, and this will allow that barrier to cease,” Carey Goryl, executive director of the International Association of Forensic Nurses told the AP in a recent interview. “Victims can now wait and think about it before deciding whether to talk to police.”
The practice is already in effect at some health clinics as well as colleges and hospitals around the country. The program has also been in effect in the state of Massachusetts for some time. However, many jurisdictions refuse to cover the estimated $800 cost of a forensic rape exam unless the victim files a police report.
So, beginning in 2009, states will have to pay for Jane Doe rape kits to continue receiving funding under the federal Violence Against Women Act. The loss of that funding will mean less money for things like women’s shelters and law enforcement training. Emergency rooms usually use a rape kit to collect evidence for use by police and prosecutors.
Rape kits involve collecting microscope slides, boxes and plastic bags for storing skin, hair, blood, saliva or semen gathered by a specialist nurse. What makes a Jane Doe rape kit different from an ordinary rape kit is that it’s sealed with only a number on the outside of the envelope to identify the victim.
Police do not open the envelope unless the victim decides to press charges. The FBI has recommended such an option since at least 1999.
“The idea is to collect the evidence now, while it’s still there,” Scott Berkowitz, president of the national Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, told the AP. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 272,350 sexual assaults were reported in 2006.
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