Citation

Campbell R, Shaw J, Fehler-Cabral G. Violence Against Women 2018; 24(4): 379-400.

Affiliation

Harder+Company Community Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801217699090

PMID

29332557

Abstract

Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing, which raises complex issues regarding how victims ought to be notified about what happened to their kits. In this project, we evaluated a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol that was implemented in Detroit, Michigan. Most victims (84%) did not have a strong negative emotional reaction to notification, and most (57%) decided to reengage with the criminal justice system. Victims of nonstranger sexual assaults were less likely to reengage postnotification compared with victims of stranger rape.

Language: en

Keywords

criminal justice system; forensic testing; rape kit; sexual assault; victim notification