DETROIT – On Monday, Mar.10, Mariska Hargitay of NBC’s Law and Order and Wayne County prosecutor Kim Worthy held a press conference at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice about the Detroit Rape Kit Project and proposed Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act Legislation. 

Hargitay is also the founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation.  The legislation will establish timelines for kit pickup by law enforcement and testing by laboratories across Michigan.

Hargitay and the Joyful Heart Foundation are part of Detroit’s collaborative, multidisciplinary effort to address the rape kit backlog and bring healing and justice to victims of sexual assault.

 “Through advances in science, DNA has given us a powerful investigative tool to identify and prosecute sexual assault offenders,” said Worthy. “The problem of back-logged and abandoned sexual assault kits illustrates the need for the proposed Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act. This legislation gives transparency and accountability surrounding this issue.”

The prosecutor’s office says law enforcement has a duty to make sure that the important evidence contained in sexual assault kits is handled, tested and analyzed in a timely manner, not only for the sake of the victim, but also for the protection of the public. 

Detroit has set a precedent for the rest of the country in attaining standards for rape kit reform, including the city’s commitment to investigate every lead generated from the rape kits and instituting comprehensive victim notification for survivors whose cases were impacted by the abandoned kits.

“When I travel across the country to speak out about the rape kit backlog, I tell people to look to Detroit for inspiration for what is possible when a city makes a commitment to end their backlog. By prioritizing rape kit reform, Detroit sends a fundamental and crucial message to victims of sexual violence: You matter. What happened to you matters. Your case matters,” said Hargitay.  “And to public officials in cities and states across the country, I say to you – if Detroit, against all odds, can solve its rape kit backlog – you can, too.”

Rape kits, performed in the aftermath of a sexual assault, contain and preserve evidence from a four-to-six hour examination of the survivor. If a survivor chooses to report her rape to the police, the evidence in the rape kit can be a very powerful tool in bringing the perpetrator to justice.