In the last ten years, the U.S. government has allocated nearly $350 million in grants aimed at aiding local and state organizations in processing long-overdue evidence related to sexual assaults, thereby providing closure to victims. Officials expressed that this initiative, identified as the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, would enhance community safety by incarcerating rapists while delivering answers to victims who have endured years or even decades of uncertainty.

However, the expected outcomes have often not materialized.

In Greenville, North Carolina, there have been no convictions despite a backlog of around 500 kits and nearly $220,000 in federal funding received. Meanwhile, Austin reported having over 4,400 backlogged kits and received $3 million in federal support, yet has only achieved one conviction so far. Alaska, with 700 backlogged kits, has received grants amounting to about $1.5 million but likewise reported just a single conviction last year.

Some jurisdictions reached out to survivors after testing their kits, while others chose not to

While conviction rates are a key indicator of progress, another essential commitment of the program—to provide victims with a sense of closure—has also not been adequately fulfilled. The majority of victims whose kits have been tested remain uninformed.

Officials face challenges regarding when and how to inform victims. Could reaching out cause additional distress if survivors learn their cases won’t proceed? Or would it be more beneficial for them to be informed, and might an apology for the delay assist in the healing process?

Federal guidelines do not mandate a standardized approach. YSL News asked for victim notification strategies from all grantee locations and evaluated 42 different policies. Only eight agencies opted to reach out to nearly all affected victims. In contrast, many organizations restricted notifications to only those whose kits had resulted in a DNA match. Six sites went even further, contacting victims exclusively if they believed there was a possibility to revive the investigation.

YSL News analyzed the rates of victim notifications for 14 agencies with early funding and the most comprehensive data, comparing the quantity of victims notified to the number of kits sent for analysis. This ratio does not account for the potential that some victims had multiple kits in the backlog.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, officials notified two victims for every three kits tested.

In Detroit, Michigan, the notification rate was approximately 9%.

In Wisconsin, authorities reported reaching out to only 105 individuals of the 4,475 kits sent for testing, which is roughly 2%.

Although infrequent, some agencies have utilized their policies as a chance to assert that survivors deserve awareness regarding the status of their sexual assault kits.

The policy in Duluth, Minnesota strongly states: “Everyone deserves to be informed unless it may cause harm.”

Sources: YSL News analysis and reporting, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grantees.