I'm sure this has been pointed out in the comments (I hope!) but it seems like the article missed a pretty glaring problem with a DIY rape kit: chain of custody of the samples collected for one - how could this be admissible as evidence if there's not a verified way of how the samples themselves were collected, could someone with nefario…
I'm sure this has been pointed out in the comments (I hope!) but it seems like the article missed a pretty glaring problem with a DIY rape kit: chain of custody of the samples collected for one - how could this be admissible as evidence if there's not a verified way of how the samples themselves were collected, could someone with nefarious intent collect a semen sample from a bedsheet or from some other contact that wasn't sexual assault for one? Lack of other physical evidence that is normally gathered at a hospital examination (bruising, tearing, other physical indications of an assault) that wouldn't be differentiated from samples gathered from a consensual encounter versus non-consensual when "self-collected" that might inhibit an investigation/prosecution without, etc.
I mean these are probably the reasons (and maybe more) as to why these kits are not legally admissible, so if they are not, what's the point? What do these kits provide the user with if not a means to prosecute a case? The example of "Bunny" - the cops wouldn't pursue her accusation, what happened after she used the kit? I guess I'm not clear about what the service is providing of value to rape victims - and that if they are being sold and/or distributed without being very, very clear about the potential to damage a conviction (already difficult enough to obtain) if the victim "disturbs the evidence" using this DIY kit to collect on their own without an examination - let alone that the DIY kit itself will likely not be of any value in achieving a conviction.
BTW - as a woman, and someone who has been sexually assaulted at a younger age, I totally get the impetus behind what the creator claims was her rationale for a "DIY rape kit" - not wanting to be "assaulted again" under the crude and impersonal lights of medical staff and gloved hands - totally. But maybe the solution here is for reforms on how examinations are conducted etc (can a victim self-gather under the guidance of a professional in person to ensure the chain of custody etc issues are resolved so that such evidence can be admissible, while also giving the victims some better care) versus a "start up" money making scheme?
And ngl, but her previous association with Martin Shkrelli (he of Pharma Boy infamy) is not exactly reassuring - nevertheless another TFP article that starts right but just glosses over the surface in service of chasing a familiar narrative (Democratic AG's - particularly ones that are labeled as "progressive", bonus points for Leticia James of one of the successful Trump prosecutions! - hassling a (conservative coded) white woman, with some possible "the left is the REAL anti-woman movement" tossed in on the side) and ignores more substantive issues surrounding this "product". Come on TFP, less narrative, more substance please.
I'm sure this has been pointed out in the comments (I hope!) but it seems like the article missed a pretty glaring problem with a DIY rape kit: chain of custody of the samples collected for one - how could this be admissible as evidence if there's not a verified way of how the samples themselves were collected, could someone with nefarious intent collect a semen sample from a bedsheet or from some other contact that wasn't sexual assault for one? Lack of other physical evidence that is normally gathered at a hospital examination (bruising, tearing, other physical indications of an assault) that wouldn't be differentiated from samples gathered from a consensual encounter versus non-consensual when "self-collected" that might inhibit an investigation/prosecution without, etc.
I mean these are probably the reasons (and maybe more) as to why these kits are not legally admissible, so if they are not, what's the point? What do these kits provide the user with if not a means to prosecute a case? The example of "Bunny" - the cops wouldn't pursue her accusation, what happened after she used the kit? I guess I'm not clear about what the service is providing of value to rape victims - and that if they are being sold and/or distributed without being very, very clear about the potential to damage a conviction (already difficult enough to obtain) if the victim "disturbs the evidence" using this DIY kit to collect on their own without an examination - let alone that the DIY kit itself will likely not be of any value in achieving a conviction.
BTW - as a woman, and someone who has been sexually assaulted at a younger age, I totally get the impetus behind what the creator claims was her rationale for a "DIY rape kit" - not wanting to be "assaulted again" under the crude and impersonal lights of medical staff and gloved hands - totally. But maybe the solution here is for reforms on how examinations are conducted etc (can a victim self-gather under the guidance of a professional in person to ensure the chain of custody etc issues are resolved so that such evidence can be admissible, while also giving the victims some better care) versus a "start up" money making scheme?
And ngl, but her previous association with Martin Shkrelli (he of Pharma Boy infamy) is not exactly reassuring - nevertheless another TFP article that starts right but just glosses over the surface in service of chasing a familiar narrative (Democratic AG's - particularly ones that are labeled as "progressive", bonus points for Leticia James of one of the successful Trump prosecutions! - hassling a (conservative coded) white woman, with some possible "the left is the REAL anti-woman movement" tossed in on the side) and ignores more substantive issues surrounding this "product". Come on TFP, less narrative, more substance please.