Is Rape Serious (NYT Opinion Piece re: Backlog of Rape Forensic Processing)

[mkrishnan]

I thought this editorial was pretty interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/opinion/30kristof.html?_r=1&em

When a woman reports a rape, her body is a crime scene. She is typically asked to undress over a large sheet of white paper to collect hairs or fibers, and then her body is examined with an ultraviolet light, photographed and thoroughly swabbed for the rapist’s DNA.

It’s a grueling and invasive process that can last four to six hours and produces a “rape kit” — which, it turns out, often sits around for months or years, unopened and untested.

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.

[leekohler]

That's sad. It amazes me that we don't deal with this in a better way. It should be noted that this also happens to men, although it rarely gets reported because of social stigma. I wonder if the procedure is the same.

[iBlue]

I don't think I can even muster the words to express how ridiculous I think that is. I think "the justice system" has a lot to be ashamed of. This is why victim report numbers are so shockingly low, knowing that after being put through hell you'll be put through a different sort of hell probably for nothing. It shouldn't be that way.

[kastenbrust]

I don't think I can even muster the words to express how ridiculous I think that is. I think "the justice system" has a lot to be ashamed of. This is why victim report numbers are so shockingly low, knowing that after being put through hell you'll be put through a different sort of hell probably for nothing. It shouldn't be that way.

How else would you have it?

We could create a giant DNA database of every citizen, then when someone's raped they could compare the DNA from the evidence of the rape to the DNA databse of citizens and instantly know who did it. But that doesn't prove it was rape, lots of people get drunk and forget what happened, then cry rape especially if they're already in a relationship or know they did something morally wrong.

Its actually a cultural issue, and all of our faults, we need to adress why certain people feel the need to rape other people, and find solutions which can fit into society, such as legalising brothels, we could then tax them and use this money to solve other problems in society.

[leekohler]

How else would you have it?

We could create a giant DNA database of every citizen, then when someone's raped they could compare the DNA from the evidence of the rape to the DNA databse of citizens and instantly know who did it. But that doesn't prove it was rape, lots of people get drunk and forget what happened, then cry rape especially if they're already in a relationship or know they did something morally wrong.

Its actually a cultural issue, and all of our faults, we need to adress why certain people feel the need to rape other people, and find solutions which can fit into society, such as legalising brothels, we could then tax them and use this money to solve other problems in society.

Rape is rarely, if ever sexual. It's an act of violence and dominance. Brothels won't fix that.

[iBlue]

How else would you have it?

We could create a giant DNA database of every citizen, then when someone's raped they could compare the DNA from the evidence of the rape to the DNA databse of citizens and instantly know who did it. But that doesn't prove it was rape, lots of people get drunk and forget what happened, then cry rape especially if they're already in a relationship or know they did something morally wrong.

I don't know, it's not really my job to sort out how rape cases are handled, but I don't need to work/have expertise in that area to know that it's not doing so well. Years to process a rape kit is absurd. There are real victims who are having trouble putting horrible events behind them at this very moment because of whatever reasons there are for de-prioritizing it.

I think someone crying rape when there wasn't one is vile. Utterly unforgivably evil and vile. However that is no reason to brush the crime of rape aside and assume all are just lying.

[localoid]

How else would you have it?

Rape is a dehumanizing and demoralizing enough... Your callous comment doesn't even deserve a reply.

We could create a giant DNA database of every citizen, then when someone's raped they could compare the DNA from the evidence of the rape to the DNA databse of citizens and instantly know who did it. But that doesn't prove it was rape, lots of people get drunk and forget what happened, then cry rape especially if they're already in a relationship or know they did something morally wrong.

Right. She was wearing a short skirt. She was begging for it. :rolleyes:

Its actually a cultural issue, and all of our faults, we need to adress why certain people feel the need to rape other people, and find solutions which can fit into society, such as legalising brothels, we could then tax them and use this money to solve other problems in society.

Rape isn't about sex. It's about power and control.

[mkrishnan]

However that is no reason to brush the crime of rape aside and assume all are just lying.

Besides, if the evidence is collected because it is thought that it may reveal whether a crime had taken place and who committed the crime, a process exists for collecting the evidence, the purpose for collecting the evidence is analyzing the evidence, and yet analyzing is not happening, how does that make any sense?

Forensic evidence may not conclusively prove rape very often, but it's certainly helped wrongly accused individuals in numerous cases.

I think, like it or not, the nature of crime investigation is only going to favor forensic science more and more where it is applicable. So we need to work on ways to make the science cheaper and faster to do, so that the data actually gets analyzed.

[Counterfit]

I think someone crying rape when there wasn't one is vile. Utterly unforgivably evil and vile. However that is no reason to brush the crime of rape aside and assume all are just lying.

While I understand that victims' trust in the system is important for rapes to be reporting, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that people who really did lie (like this one (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case#Credibility_of_the_accuser)) go on a write a book.