I got the call last week (Dec. 29) the last rape kit from Idaho’s backlog had finally been tested and put in the system! Matthew Gamette and his team at the Idaho State Police Forensics lab have been working to test all of the kits that were the subject of my original legislation in 2016 to establish minimum standards for the processing and tracking of sexual assault kit evidence.
This milestone is so important because forensic evidence can be used to identify suspects or exonerate wrongfully accused people. And if we collect evidence but don’t use it, it sends a terrible message to survivors of sexual assault, and contributes to an overall climate where victims don’t feel like they matter or are believed.
Ruth Brown broke this story in 2015, reporting that more than 1,000 kits were sitting on shelves untested at police agencies statewide, which created an immense backlog. After reading that piece and visiting the state crime lab, I contacted the director of forensics and then Lt. Col. Wills to let them know we needed to do something, and we did! Since then, I have worked on several more bills with a great group of stakeholders to ensure:
- all kits are tested
- evidence is properly preserved
- a fund to pay for processing, instead of victims
- evidence tracking system, allowing victims to know the status of processing and helping increase transparency
While this milestone is such an important step, it’s not the only piece that survivors experience. In fact, due to many reasons — such as trauma, shock, fear of not being taken seriously, and system failures (like the one we addressed in legislation) — most survivors of sexual assault never report the crime to law enforcement, which is why investing in community based programs to support survivors is so important.
A study released by Boise State University in 2021 “issued six recommendations, including providing more victim services, especially in rural areas.”
The criminal legal system is just one piece. As a senator, I will do all I can to influence existing law to make systems more fair and accessible for survivors. HOWEVER, we also need to listen to survivors who don’t report. We have invested a lot in the criminal legal system, but we really need to invest in COMMUNITY-based services to address support, counseling, and healing from trauma AND work on upriver solutions to prevent harm.
We must go to the ROOT CAUSES of violence, which include changing cultural attitudes about women and people of color. Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic attitudes dehumanize people into objects. We saw these types of beliefs materialize in the comments made recently by Scott Yenor. Viewing people as objects — as Mr. Yenor and his followers do — make it much easier to commit acts of violence against people.
Idaho is one of the only states that doesn’t fund community-based services, like FACES of Hope or other women’s shelters and sexual violence response/prevention programs. That needs to change, especially in the face of historic budget surpluses and as violent attitudes, like Yenor’s, continue to exist. We must educate and help people whenever we can. That starts by ensuring community mechanisms not only exist but are well funded, because we cannot go back, and by working together, we never will.
(Click here to read about the legislation passed in the last 5 years addressing this issue.)