Petition to Create a Rape Kit Tracking System in Florida

In Central Florida, a rapist attacked a young mother while her child was in the next room. This victim then did what many sexual assault victims do; she called the police and allowed them to collect evidence with a rape kit. Though instead of using that evidence to hunt for her rapist, they took her Rape Kit and put it on a shelf, where it sat for 32 years. 

Thanks to a one time law, the state was forced to test the backlog of rape kits over the past two years. More than 8,000 backlogged rape kits that had not been analyzed for DNA evidence have now been tested, yielding thousands of hits, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. One month ago, the now 73-year-old survivor learned her Rape Kit had matched and discovered that as many as 15 other women in the state had been raped by the same man. This can be stopped. 

Last year HB 727 & SB 1028 failed to pass through the legislature. Those bills would have allowed Rape Kits to be tracked so victims would not have to wait decades for justice. So other women don’t have to suffer the same fate. Florida is only a handful of states left in the US that do not track Rape Kit testing. Enough is enough. Now that the election is over it’s time to roll up our sleeves and start fighting for issues we should all care about. Let’s make sure no survivor of rape ever suffers this injustice again.

“If we can track a pizza as it’s delivered to our door step, then we should be able to track a Rape Kit.” - Kat Duesterhaus 

A Rape Kit Tracking System in Florida will bring transparency to the testing process, and empower sexual assault survivors with up-to-the-minute information about the status of their case. From the point of collection through forensic analysis to final storage location and possible destruction, a Rape Kit Tracking System will provide survivors the ability to anonymously and securely track the location and status of their Rape Kit.

“Establishing a sexual assault kit tracking system is a step toward increased rape kit handling accountability and transparency. Ensuring all stakeholders in the criminal justice process can know the location and status of all newly collected sexual assault evidence kits will bring clarity to evidence kit processing and prevent a backlog from happening again.” - EndTheBackLog.org

The first rape kit tracking law was implemented in Michigan in 2014 through S.B.998. In 2016, both Washington State and Idaho adopted tracking laws. Since then more than 29 states and Washington DC have either implemented or are in the process of implementing sexual assault kit tracking systems.

Arizona* / Arkansas / California / Connecticut / Hawai‘i / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa* / Kentucky / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Missouri / Montana / Nevada / New Hampshire* / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota* / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / South Carolina / Texas / Utah / Virginia / Washington (*indicates non-legislative reform)

We believe Florida should be the next state to create and implement a statewide tracking system to follow the path of a rape kit throughout the chain of command: from the hospital, to local law enforcement agency, throughout the analysis process at the lab, and to final disposition. Florida’s tracking system should also include a secure access portal through which sexual assault survivors can obtain information about their kit and receive critical updates. There is enough anxiety and trauma in the aftermath of sexual assault. Let’s help make sure the anxiety of wondering what happened to a Rape Kit is not adding to that stress for any more survivors of sexual assault.

Tracking Rape Kits is also crucial to holding hospitals, law enforcement, and state labs accountable. It ensures they are following the laws dictating processing timelines for rape kits. Tracking systems provide for a comprehensive analysis of total rape kits in a state, showing how many are in possession of the hospital, in law enforcement custody, and sitting at state labs either awaiting testing or that have been tested.

Please sign our petition to help us protect victims of rape in Florida and ensure rapists are stopped before they have a chance to act again.  Learn more at www.GailsLaw.org