The Sexual Assault Kit Backlog
A "Paper to Practice" Series
In this season, we will be learning about the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog, a national scale problem of large stockpiles of sexual assault kits that never underwent DNA tested.
Dr. Rebecca Campbell and Dr. Katie Gregory discuss recommendations for how advocates can best serve survivors and how victim notification can support survivors’ well-being and promote justice.
Episode 1:
What is The Sexual Assault Kit Backlog?
In 2009, over 11,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) were discovered in Detroit, Michigan. Historically, sexual assault has not been taken seriously by law enforcement. However, in recent years we’ve seen more change thanks to initiatives spearheaded by Dr. Rebecca Campbell, her team of researchers, and local agencies.
Episode 2:
Supporting Survivors Through Victim Notification
Detroit’s Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Action Research Project was created in response to the discovery of nearly 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in 2009. This video summarizes an evaluation study and recommendations based on the victim notification protocols created by the community taskforce.
Series Materials
Advocates need empirically-based recommendations for how best to serve this vulnerable
population, and this study addresses this gap by exploring how victim notifications can support survivors’
well-being and promote justice.
Victim Defined Safety Planning: A Summary
Victim perspectives and priorities determine the strategies, objectives, and direction of victim-defined safety plans. The essential role of advocacy is to offer information, analysis, and resources – to work in partnership with victims to strengthen their plans. This resources discusses safety as a broad concept and provides information for advocates on how to engage in comprehensive safety planning to better meet victims’ needs.
Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Victim Notification Toolkit
Notifying sexual assault survivors about renewed activity in their cold cases brings up complex, traumatic emotions and requires commitment from all disciplines to establish and follow protocols that ensure a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach. Multidisciplinary team members and criminal justice professionals should use guidance and lessons learned by peers to reengage survivors in the criminal justice system.
Palm cards can provide victims of sexual assault a discrete, pocket-sized resource guide for supportive care services when there are concerns for a victim’s confidentiality and safety. This resource provides guidance and templates to help multidisciplinary teams or Sexual Assault Response Teams design and implement palm cards that can provide victim notification teams a safe and confidential way to reach out to victims of sexual assault.
The following research articles were referenced in the series:
Campbell, Rebecca. (2014). “Sexual Assault ‘Action Research’ in Detroit” interview, National Institute of Justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iui_vnoPDU0
Campbell, R., Fehler-Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Bybee, D., Shaw, J., & Feeney, H. (2015). The Detroit Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Action Research Project (ARP), final report. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248680.pdf
Campbell, R., Fehler-Cabral, G., & Horsford, S. (2017). Creating a victim notification protocol for untested sexual assault kits: An empirically supported planning framework. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 13(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000139
Campbell, R., Feeney, H., Goodman-Williams, R., Sharma, D. B., & Pierce, S. J. (2020). Connecting the dots: Identifying suspected serial sexual offenders through forensic DNA evidence. Psychology of Violence, 10(3), 255–267. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000243
Pierce, S. J., & Zhang, Z. (2011). Projected numbers of evidence kits expected to reach different stages of forensic analysis: A summary based on data from the 400 Project. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Center for Statistical Training and Consulting.
Strom, K., Scott, T., Feeney, H., Young, A., Couzens, L., & Berzofsky, M. (2021). How much justice is denied? An estimate of unsubmitted sexual assault kits in the United States. Journal of Criminal Justice, 73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101746
Campbell, R., Gregory, K., Javorka, M., Engleton, J., Goodman-Williams, R., and Fishwick, K. (2022). Evaluating A Victim Notification Protocol For Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs): How Do Survivors Define Justice Years After an Assault? Final Research Report, Office on Violence Against Women, Award 2018-SI-AX-001. https://justiceresearch.dspacedirect.org/items/bfe5e6ec-6921-419e-ac1d-4d206d2dc1c9
Campbell, R., Shaw, J., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2018). Evaluation of a Victim-Centered, Trauma-Informed Victim Notification Protocol for Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs). Violence Against Women, 24(4), 379–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217699090
Campbell, R., Engleton, J., Gregory, K., Goodman-Williams, R., & Javorka, M. (2023). “It Made Me Feel Like Someone Wasn’t Doing Their Job:” Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Victim Notifications and Institutional Betrayal by the Criminal Legal System. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2023.2231914
Log in or create an account at MiVAN.org to access these trainings:
Building Confidence in Your Advocacy Skills: Confidentiality and Effective Communication
Confidentiality is a critical aspect of what community-based domestic and sexual violence programs offer survivors. Utilizing Empowerment Theory and the tool of Empathy, this training aims to build upon current knowledge of DV advocates regarding supporting survivors. To this end, this four-part presentation will use visual aids, animation, scripted scenarios and assessments to suggest language and deepen knowledge about using basic effective listening and communication skills in this work.
Doing Advocacy Remotely: Conveying Empathy by Phone and Text
This skill-building video provides vignettes and scenarios to demonstrate remote advocacy in practice, focusing on providing services over phone and text. Challenges covered include typos, emojis, and not being able to rely on body language and facial expressions. This training provides specific tips to improve communication and convey empathy during remote advocacy and includes a resource library for additional learning related to doing advocacy remotely.
Meet the Experts
Dr. Rebecca Campbell is a professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. She holds a Ph.D. in community psychology with a concentration in statistics, also from Michigan State University. Most recently, she was the lead researcher for the National Institute of Justice-funded Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Action Research Project, which was a four-year multidisciplinary study of Detroit’s untested rape kits.
Dr. Katie Gregory is is a Professor of Ecological-Community Psychology at Michigan State University and the Director of the Michigan Victim Advocacy Network (MiVAN), funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Victim Services. Dr. Gregory’s research examines how medical, legal, and social service systems respond to survivors of sexual assault and more broadly, survivors of gender-based violence.