TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Hope shattered: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of survivors' experiences with untested rape kits
JO  - Violence against women
A1  - Bach, Maria Hardeberg
A1  - Ahrens, Courtney
A1  - Howard, Rebecca
A1  - Dahlgren, Sherisa
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Rape survivors who submit to a medical forensic exam generally expect the resulting rape kit to be tested, but hundreds of thousands of rape kits have been left untested in police storage facilities nationwide. The current study sought to understand what the experience of having an untested rape kit was like for survivors. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, this study examined narratives of 15 survivors whose rape kits had been part of the rape kit backlog. Analysis suggested that survivors experience an extreme sense of betrayal and loss of faith in the criminal justice system when their kits are not tested. For these survivors, the rape kit was more than just evidence in a box; it was part of them. Implications are discussed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1077-8012
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10778012221083335
ID  - ref1
ER  -