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The Rape Kit Is Horribly Outdated
We have the technology to make the experience better for survivors, so why haven’t we?
Back in September, the launch of the at-home sexual assault evidence collection system MeToo Kit was met with widespread disdain. As numerous commentators pointed out, the kit — which promised to “empower survivors” by enabling them to conduct their own forensic exam at home — was unlikely to be considered admissible evidence by any court, rendering it functionally useless. “The at-home rape kit start-up is a useless mess,” writer Katie Heaney declared dismissively on The Cut.
But as untenable as the solution offered by the MeToo Kit and another, similar product may have been, the problem that these kits identified is worth further consideration. Across the country, rape kits — known variously as sexual assault kits (SAKs), sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kits, and sexual offense evidence collection kits (SOECKs), among other names — come in a variety of formats, with seemingly no rhyme or reason for the widespread variation. In many states, the design of kits is wildly out of date and out of step with best practices for post-sexual assault care and modern evidence collection, leading survivors to be subjected to unnecessary pain and trauma during the course of their sexual assault forensic exam.
