A new task force launched by U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Patrick Meehan (R-PA) on Wednesday will work to advance policies to curb sexual violence and raise awareness about the issue.
Joyce and Meehan were joined by U.S. Reps. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) in announcing the the formation of the bipartisan Sexual Violence Prevention and Awareness Task Force.
“As a father of three, I am working to create an environment that fosters safety for our young people, and where victims of sexual assault can come forward without fear of retribution and stigma,” Joyce, who spent 25 years as a prosecuting attorney, said.
The task force, launched to coincide with sexual assault awareness month, will focus on shaping policies to address issues surrounding sexual violence, including crimes like sexual assault, rape and sexual abuse.
On average, there are more than 321,500 victims of rape and sexual assault over the age of 12 in the United States each year. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, only 344 of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police.
The task force will also turn its attention to the issue of a massive backlog of unanalyzed sexual assault kits across the country resulting from many jurisdictions having outdated tracking and counting systems. Computerized evidence-tracking systems and modern DNA forensic analysis techniques that were not widely used before the late 1990s could help analyze and positively match sexual assault kits.
“It is important to shed light on this critical issue and provide resources needed to aid police efforts to address the backlog of thousands of rape kits sitting in police evidence rooms,” Joyce said.
The testing of those kits could help stop serial rapists, and would also further investigations that could lead to prosecutions in previously unsolved assault cases.