Evaluation of a Victim-Centered, Trauma-Informed Victim Notification Protocol for Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs)

Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing, which raises complex issues regarding how victims ought to be notified about what happened to their kits. The current evaluation of the Detroit victim notification protocol found that most victims (84 percent) did not have a strong negative emotional reaction to notification, and most (57 percent) decided to re-engage with the criminal justice system. Victims of non-stranger sexual assaults were less likely to re-engage post-notification compared with victims of stranger rape. (publisher abstract modified)