Today, the
Daily Journal ran my op-ed on why the Mississippi Legislature should approve legislation that would require rape kits to be tested within 60 days. In my piece I write:
Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Sadly, only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators end up in prison. Two bills have already been passed by the Mississippi House to help victims of these crimes achieve justice, but if the Senate fails to approve them by Wednesday, March 8, they may die. It would be a great disservice to these victims to let this happen.
Until last year, victims were subjected to a 21-step process. In partnership with sexual assault victim advocates, like the Center for Violence Prevention and Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and with the vital leadership of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), we updated the rape kit and payment process for the first time in 15 years. The process has been reduced to only nine steps now, and health care providers still send the bills directly to my office for payment so victims never see a bill. Last fiscal year, we processed payments for 405 kits across Mississippi.
Reports indicate that in 2019 there were 600 rape kits waiting to be processed in Mississippi. Some of these kits were more than a decade old. These are not just kits in a lab. Each one represents a Mississippian who turned to the state in her most vulnerable hour.
A bill is currently being considered in the Mississippi Legislature that would fix this process and bring much-needed justice to these brave victims. Introduced by Rep. Angela Cockerham, HB 485 would update and streamline the process and require kits be tested within 60 days. In order to ensure procedures are followed, the bill establishes a Sexual Assault Evidence Accountability Task Force to develop and approve standardized policies and procedures.
Read my full op-ed in the Daily Journal
here.
