The new system will be able to track the evidence of violations from the moment they are collected
Legislation is already in force in New York that requires the establishment of a statewide electronic tracking system for sex crime evidence collection kits, commonly known as rape kits.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law S7867-A/A9596-A, which directs the Division of Criminal Justice Services to create a digital tracking system for this evidence in law enforcement custody.
The system will track the kits from the moment they are collected by police until they are analyzed as evidence by crime labs.
This new online information process will be of great help to victims of sexual abuse who decide not to report to the police or initiate immediate legal proceedings against their alleged aggressors, since the kits are stored by the Office of Support for Victims of Sexual Assault (OVS) for a period of 20 years, as required by New York Public Health Law.
“Survivors of sexual assault deserve support, compassion and justice, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to provide them with the support they deserve,” the president explained when signing the legislation.
What is a rape kits?
As endtheblacklog, a digital platform for the prevention and support of victims of sexual abuse, documents in detail, “every 68 seconds someone is sexually assaulted in the United States and immediately after the assault a survivor may choose to undergo a forensic medical examination to collect any evidence”.
In this case, a specialist will conduct the examination for four to six hours.
If a survivor decides to report the rape to the police, the evidence in the rape kit can be a very powerful tool in bringing the perpetrator to justice.
During the physical examination, injuries caused by the attack are documented and treated, and evidence is collected.
The examiner collects biological evidence such as saliva, blood, semen, urine, skin cells, and hair by taking samples from the survivor’s skin, genitals, anus, and mouth, scraping under the survivor’s fingernails, and combing the survivor’s hair. .
When the forensic medical examination is complete, the collected evidence is carefully packaged and labeled to prevent contamination.
In the case of New York, the OVS is responsible for storing evidence, which has not been turned over to law enforcement, so a victim may request certain information about their kit or other stored personal items, as evidence of the assault.
“This legal mechanism offers a relief to survivors, since they can access this information when they are ready. This will help counter the loss of control, which is often at the core of a sexual assault experience,” explained State Senator Alessandra Biaggi.
Reports of sexual assault grew in 2022
As of last October, sexual assault reports to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had increased by 8.8%.
These types of crimes are typified by the Uniformed Forces as those in which there is an assault of a sexual nature, ranging from groping to penetration into the victim’s body, criminal acts more commonly known as rape.
A national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that more than 18% of women reported having been raped in their lifetime, but specifically in the Big Apple, approximately 785,000 women, or 1.1 % of the female population suffers some type of sexual assault annually.
In this sense, a crosscheck of data from various organizations highlights that young women of color experience sexual violence at a higher rate.
The data:
40% of African-American women admitted to some coercive contact of a sexual nature at age 18, and almost one-fifth of Latina adolescents (19%) reported dating sexual violence with boyfriends.
Seek Confidential Help:
- The Confidential Sexual Assault Victims Helpline (RAINN) 800-6564673 offers free 24/7 support for survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones.
- Connect with all the services offered by New York State through OVC at https://ovs.ny.concerncenter.com/ For more information on the services offered by this agency, including eligibility guidelines, visit ovs .ny.gov or call 1-800-247-8035.
- The New York District Attorney’s Office Sex Crimes Hotline 212-3359373 also offers special resources for victims of these crimes.
- Learn about education and prevention resources on the New York Alliance Against Sexual Assault website: https://www.svfreenyc.org/research/