This Was the Floor, Not the Ceiling: What Rape Kit Reform Still Doesn’t Fix

Written By Maggie Shellene
professional image of a forensic evidence collection
“The backlog of untested rape kits is one of the clearest and most shocking demonstrations of how we have failed survivors.”
— Mariska Hargitay

From the DARCC Education Department

All 50 states now have some form of rape kit reform. That is being framed as a milestone, which it is. It is also a reflection of how long something this basic was allowed to go unaddressed. After more than a decade of advocacy led by survivors and amplified by Mariska Hargitay and the Joyful Heart Foundation, every state, along with Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, has enacted legislation addressing how sexual assault evidence is handled. 

For years, survivors went through invasive, hours-long forensic exams only for that evidence to sit untested, sometimes for decades. Testing kits changes part of that. It signals that evidence matters and that survivors matter. If we only tell this story as progress, though, we miss something important. Testing evidence is not innovation. It is the baseline. It took more than 16 years of national advocacy to get here. Backlogs were documented for years. Survivors were asking questions. Advocates were raising concerns. The system had the information and still did not act with urgency. 

This did not happen because systems evolved on their own. It happened because survivors and advocates forced visibility around something that was easier to ignore. Mariska Hargitay used her platform to bring national attention to the backlog and help push it into public conversation and policy action. That visibility mattered. The fact that it took that level of visibility matters too. When national campaigns, media attention, and years of advocacy are required to secure something as basic as evidence testing, it raises difficult questions about what systems respond to and what they are able to overlook. 

There is also a common assumption in this moment that if kits are tested, accountability follows. That is not how the system works. Testing a rape kit can support an investigation. It can identify DNA and connect cases. It does not guarantee that a case will be investigated, that charges will be filed, or that a survivor will ever see accountability. A tested kit is evidence. It is not justice. 

Rape kit reform addresses what happens to evidence after it is collected. It does not change how survivors are treated when they first disclose, how credibility is questioned, or how slowly cases often move through the system. It also does not undo years of evidence sitting untouched while trust in those systems eroded. Here in Dallas, we see how much coordination it takes for a response system to work even at its best. From forensic exams and advocacy support to law enforcement and prosecution, every step requires resources, training, and follow-through. When one part of that process breaks down, survivors feel it. Policy can change process. It does not automatically change experience. 

That is why the framing of this moment matters. If the narrative becomes “we fixed it,” the bar gets lowered. Delayed action starts to look like success instead of raising questions about why the delay was acceptable for so long. Progress should be recognized. It should also be examined. 

This is progress. It is also overdue. 

The backlog was never the only problem. It was the most visible one. Clearing untested kits matters, but a functioning response system should not depend on national attention, public pressure, or years of advocacy before survivors are taken seriously. 

Sources:

Maggie Shellene
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