"The fact that Phillips underwent a forensic exam should, at least in theory, have helped move her case out of the “he said, she said” cul-de-sac, by including evidence about trauma to her vagina.
However, an investigation by RH Reality Check shows that the fate of Phillips’ complaint fits the pattern of how the “he said, she said” dilemma has outgrown the realm of legitimate legal query, and has instead come to justify the systemic failure of police and prosecutors nationwide to properly process forensic evidence that could lead to more sexual assault convictions, and also to identify serial rapists who otherwise remain at large. Investigators’ unwillingness to push past the superficial appearance of a “he said, she said” case has also frustrated federal lawmakers who have appropriated more than $1 billion trying to reduce rape kit backlogs. Additionally, researchers say that police attitudes toward sexual assault are lagging social and scientific understanding of evidence in sexual assault cases...
The answer lies in attacking the “he said, she said” quandary. Specifically, experts are now beginning to understand that, in general, all rape kits should be tested, whereas police frequently—and wrongly—only test those where they decide that the case does not turn on consent, or where the assailant’s identity is in question.
These decisions are often influenced by overt or unconscious victim-blaming on the part of police, or ignorance about how trauma influences a victim’s conduct both during and after an attack, experts told RH Reality Check...
Now that more cities are testing their backlogs due to increased public pressure, researchers are finding that both stranger and non-stranger rapists tend to be serial rapists."
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/06/22/investigative-report-victim-blaming-led-rape-kit-backlog/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=investigative-report-victim-blaming-led-rape-kit-backlog
Great. Super protected. Our society works really well.
The answer lies in attacking the “he said, she said” quandary. Specifically, experts are now beginning to understand that, in general, all rape kits should be tested, whereas police frequently—and wrongly—only test those where they decide that the case does not turn on consent, or where the assailant’s identity is in question.
These decisions are often influenced by overt or unconscious victim-blaming on the part of police, or ignorance about how trauma influences a victim’s conduct both during and after an attack, experts told RH Reality Check...
Now that more cities are testing their backlogs due to increased public pressure, researchers are finding that both stranger and non-stranger rapists tend to be serial rapists."
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/06/22/investigative-report-victim-blaming-led-rape-kit-backlog/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=investigative-report-victim-blaming-led-rape-kit-backlog
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