Rape kits go unused? Not in Afghanistan – in U.S.
April 30, 2009
by The New Agenda
|Hats off to Nicholas Kristof for an excellent op-ed in the New York Times today. Kristof writes (emphasis added):
Stunningly often, the rape kit isn’t tested at all because it’s not deemed a priority. If it is tested, this happens at such a lackadaisical pace that it may be a year or more before there are results (if expedited, results are technically possible in a week).
So while we have breakthrough DNA technologies to find culprits and exculpate innocent suspects, we aren’t using them properly — and those who work in this field believe the reason is an underlying doubt about the seriousness of some rape cases. In short, this isn’t justice; it’s indifference.
Kristof cites a Human Rights Watch report that was just completed which shows some shocking results:
The report found that in Los Angeles County, there were at last count 12,669 rape kits sitting in police storage facilities. More than 450 of these kits had sat around for more than 10 years, and in many cases, the statute of limitations had expired.
There are no good national figures, and one measure of the indifference is that no one even bothers to count the number of rape kits sitting around untested.
And he also point out the succes of New York City where rap kits are properly used:
While the backlog and desultory handling of rape kits are nationwide problems, there is one shining exception: New York City has made a concerted effort over the last decade to test every kit that comes in. The result has been at least 2,000 cold hits in rape cases, and the arrest rate for reported cases of rape in New York City rose from 40 percent to 70 percent, according to Human Rights Watch.
And here’s his punchline:
It’s what we might expect in Afghanistan, not in the United States.
Kristoff is impressive. Thanks for the post.
Kristoff’s casual reference to Afghanistan reveals an reflexive contempt for other cultures which I find dismaying. It’s enough that we fail to live up to our claims to care for the human rights of women (so noisily bruited during the build up to war in Afghanistan and Iraq of course). The vanishingly small number of rape cases successfully prosecuted in British courts is a shameful failure of arrogantly swaggering judeochristian culture, not islamic. Or does Kristoff not care that spreading such views leads to women supporting wars in which women and children are, overwhelmingly, the victims of US/UK attacks using missiles, drones and other weapons of indiscriminate large scale destruction? Let us deal with our own massively prevalent and mostly unremarked misogyny.
My take was just the opposite, Briar. I think it is quite a stretch to interpret the Afghanistan comment as some kind of endorsement of war.
Briar,
I hold Islam in as high a regard as I do Judaism or Christianity. Still, these little incidentals like throwing acid in a girl’s face because she demands the right to an education is a bit much. I think that the reference was appropriate for that reason.
Meanwhile in Alaska Gov Palin annouced”We also can report an increase in funding to help fight sexual assault, with a $1.3 million increase in FY2010 funding for the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. These funds will help programs that protect and advocate for victims and also go toward community-based prevention efforts.” That is what appes wen a woman is Governor or President
oops my H isnt working well,
what I meant to say was that meanwhile in Alaska Gov Palin announced”We also can report an increase in funding to help fight sexual assault, with a $1.3 million increase in FY2010 funding for the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. These funds will help programs that protect and advocate for victims and also go toward community-based prevention efforts.” That is what happens when a woman is governor or president. Perhaps it should also be noted that the old rumor about the Governor charging for rape kits was a product of the imagination of a blogger during the campaign and and no basis in fact.
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