Model and Strategy
Every 2 minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. Victims who report assaults can opt to undergo a medical forensic exam to collect DNA evidence, which is held in a rape kit. Experts estimate there are hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits in police and crime lab storage facilities nationwide. Behind each untested kit lies a lost opportunity to bring healing and justice to survivors and to hold perpetrators accountable.
Joyful Heart Foundation has partnered with Civitas Public Affairs Group to develop a campaign to end the backlog by 2020. This campaign mandates the swift testing of kits and establishes other best practices state by state. Through partnerships with all levels of government, law enforcement, advocates, survivors, and other stakeholders, JHF is working to raise awareness, unlock critical funding, and enact reforms to improve the criminal justice response to sexual violence. These reforms will support women’s health, dignity and agency.
Impact
Our theory of change is to engage policymakers, stakeholders, and survivors at the federal, state, and grassroots level to end the rape kit backlog. Through key strategies: uncovering the extent of the backlog, offering survivor-centric, evidence-informed solutions and monitoring implementation to ensure accountability, we will end the backlog.
To achieve change we use the below tools:
Issue open records requests to police agencies uncovering the number of untested rape kits nationwide;
A systematic, 50 state campaign to pass laws effectively eliminating the backlog by 2020.
Federal advocacy to unlock funding. JHF was key to establishing the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative in 2014, which has granted $86 million to 32 agencies in 25 states to test kits, prosecute cases and re-engage survivors. Joyful Heart promotes evidence-based practices to these sites. In 2016, we produced a research report on best practice for victim notification in cold cases.
Amplification of the national conversation around these issues via media and online platforms. Our website endthebacklog.org is the premier online resource on the backlog.
Over the past 7 years, we have seen the self-sustaining impact of sparking reform across the country. Local efforts to test backlogged kits have led to statewide efforts to pass legislation, advancing conversations about rape culture, expanded multi-stakeholder engagement and promoted research about the issue. The amount of change we have seen is unprecedented in this issue space; through our work, we will broaden and strengthen this impact.
Leadership
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Maile Zambuto
CEO