Joyce reintroduces House resolution aimed at ending backlog of untested rape kits

With estimates that hundreds of thousands of rape kits across the country remain untested, U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) recently reintroduced a resolution to address the backlog. 

“As a former prosecutor, I understand all too well that each of the kits in this backlog represent real people waiting for justice,” Rep. Joyce said on Dec. 5. “It’s past time to take action at the federal level to help combat the rape kit backlog and give survivors the justice they deserve.”

Rep. Joyce on Nov. 22 sponsored House Resolution (H.Res.) 1492 with three original cosponsors, U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY), Ann Kuster (D-NH), and Jackie Speier (D-CA). All four lawmakers co-chair the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence.

If enacted, H.Res. 1492 would express the sense of the U.S. House of Representatives that state legislatures should pass comprehensive sexual assault kit reform legislation that includes certain requirements, such as for the auditing and testing of backlogged sexual assault evidence kits, according to the congressional record summary. 

“In Ohio, we’ve worked to give law enforcement the tools they need to improve the processing of rape kits and hold those who commit these horrible crimes accountable,” Rep. Joyce. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan resolution with my colleagues to ensure that the same progress can be implemented across the country.”

Specifically, the resolution would encourage states to establish collaborations with state and local sexual assault advocates, sexual assault nurse examiners, and law enforcement officers to ensure that a sexual assault advocate is made available to sexual assault survivors upon a report to law enforcement, during a sexual assault forensic exam and for ongoing support and services, according to a summary provided by Rep. Joyce’s staff.

Additionally, H.Res. 1492 would urge states to conduct an annual statewide audit to inventory all untested sexual assault kits with the goal of understanding the problem and to monitor the progress to eliminate backlogs, and press law enforcement agencies to submit all newly collected and previously untested kits to a laboratory and require the laboratory to test kits for DNA within a specific timeframe and ensure they’re uploaded to the appropriate databases, among other provisions, the summary says.

The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network and the Joyful Heart Foundation endorsed the resolution.