Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kamala Harris Proposes Plan To Chip Away At Backlog Of Rape Kits That Can Often Sit Untested For Years
USA Today: Kamala Harris: Rape Kit Backlog Can Be Cleared At Cost Of Trump Golf Trips
Sen. Kamala Harris said Thursday that if she wins the White House she’ll push Congress to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in her first term to help state law enforcement agencies process tens of thousands of untested rape kits that could help police identify perpetrators of sexual assaults. The rape kit backlog has long been a stain on American law enforcement agencies. By some estimates, the nationwide backlog includes more than 225,000 cases in which evidence from reported sexual assaults has gone untested. (Madhani and Tuchscherer, 7/11)
The Washington Post: Kamala Harris Proposes Federal Spending To End Backlog In Processing Of Rape Evidence
According to End the Backlog, a project sponsored by the Joyful Heart Foundation, which seeks to assist crime victims, hundreds of thousands of rape kits collected from victims are sitting untested in evidence storage or crime labs nationwide. As advances in DNA testing placed strain on crime labs, there are no national standards for keeping and testing the evidence. (Janes, 7/11)
BuzzFeed News: Kamala Harris Has A New Plan To Close The Rape Kit Backlog
Harris said she would spend $1 billion to encourage states to clear rape kit backlogs and invest in reforms, including requiring rape kits to be tested within narrow time frames, counting and reporting untested rape kits, and giving victims information about the status of their rape kits. (Hensley-Clancy, 7/11)
The Hill: Harris Unveils Plan To Close National Rape Kit Backlog In First Term
Harris touted her efforts as California attorney general to close the state's backlog of DNA analysis and more than 1,000 untested rape kits in state-run labs. “The federal government can and should prioritize justice for survivors of sex abuse, assault and rape,” Harris said in a press release. “As California’s Attorney General, I committed resources and attention to clearing a backlog of 1,300 untested rape kits at state-run labs, and we got it done within my first year in office. We need the same focus at the national level to pursue justice and help hold predators accountable.” (Axelrod, 7/11)
Essence: Kamala Harris Proposes Plan To Close Rape Kit Backlog
Harris, who sponsors the Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act in the U.S. Senate, is also calling on states to enact four reforms which includes counting and reporting the number of untested rape kits, putting shorter turn-around times for the testing of new kits, allow for the tracking of kits which will be available to victims, and increasing the availability of the kits. (Christian, 7/11)
Meanwhile, KHN looks at the cost of getting such a kit —
Kaiser Health News: Despite Federal Protections, Rape Victims Still Get Billed For Forensic Exams
Six years ago, Erin was a newly minted graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, working three part-time jobs and adjusting to life as a non-student. She stopped in for a drink one night at a restaurant in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, where she got into a conversation with a guy. The next thing she remembers clearly was awakening at home the next morning, aching, covered in bruises, with a swollen lip. She believed she had been raped and went to the local police station to file a report. (Andrews, 7/12)
