Anonymous . tests are going nationwide
By KRISTEN WYATT - 5 hours ago
ELKTON, Md. (AP) - Starting next year across the country, . victims too
afraid or too ashamed to go to police can undergo an emergency-room forensic
. exam, and the evidence gathered will be kept on file in a sealed
envelope in case they decide to press charges.
The new federal requirement that states pay for "Jane Doe . kits" is
aimed at removing one of the biggest obstacles to prosecuting . cases:
Some women are so traumatized they don't come forward until it is too late
to collect hair, semen or other samples.
"Sometimes the issue of actually having to make a report to police can be a
barrier to victims, and this will allow that barrier to cease, to allow the
victim to think about it before deciding whether to talk to police," said
Carey Goryl, executive director of the International Association of Forensic
Nurses.
The practice is already followed at some health clinics, colleges and
hospitals around the country and by the state of Massachusetts. But many
other jurisdictions refuse to cover the estimated $800 cost of a forensic
. exam unless the victim files a police report.
Beginning in 2009, states will have to pay for Jane Doe . kits to
continue receiving funding under the federal Violence Against Women Act,
which provides tax dollars for women's shelters and law enforcement
training. States will decide how many locations will offer anonymous .
exams and how long the evidence should be kept.
Emergency rooms typically use a ". kit" to collect evidence for use by
police and prosecutors. It consists of microscope slides, boxes and plastic
bags for storing skin, hair, blood, saliva or semen gathered by a specially
trained nurse. The victim's injuries are also photographed.
What makes a Jane Doe . kit different is that it is sealed with only a
number on the outside of the envelope to identify the victim. Police do not
open the envelope unless the victim decides to press charges.
The FBI has recommended such an option since at least 1999.
"The idea is to collect the evidence now, while it's still there," said
Scott Berkowitz, president of the national ., Abuse and Incest National
Network.
The new requirement applies only to adult victims. Hospitals and doctors
must still report incest or abuse involving children to the police.
In Cecil County, local authorities started offering Jane Doe kits four years
ago, after a . victim recanted. Anne Bean, clinical director for a .
and .ual assault counseling program in Cecil County, said giving women the
option of keeping police out of it until they are ready to press charges is
crucial.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, 272,350 .ual assaults were
reported in 2006. The same survey estimated that only 41 percent of .s
and other .ual assaults are reported to police.
"Many times, you have people who were drunk, maybe doing drugs, maybe
they're underage, and you start talking about the police and they get
scared," Bean said. "So, sometimes it's not until long after they're willing
to report, at which point of course any physical evidence is gone."
Massachusetts officials had no immediate figures on how many . kits were
collected anonymously there, or how many were ultimately opened.
In Allegany and Cecil counties in Maryland, evidence is kept at least 90
days. So far, 13 women have submitted anonymous evidence, and none has
returned to press charges.
Still, hospital and police officials credit an offer of Jane Doe testing
with encouraging a reluctant victim in Cecil County to undergo an exam.
During that process, she decided to report the crime, and her attacker was
successfully prosecuted.
"Just to let people know this option is out there is good, to say, 'It's OK,
you don't have to prosecute if you don't want to,'" said Kathleen, a .
victim in Pennsylvania who spoke on condition her full name not be used.
Kathleen underwent an exam after being .d in Virginia in 2004, but her
rapist was never found or charged. Kathleen said she wasn't offered
anonymous reporting, but she has met . victims in group therapy who
regret not going for an exam.
"They're embarrassed. They don't even go get tested for STDs because they're
so embarrassed," Kathleen said.
At Union Hospital in Elkton, forensic nurse Chris Lenz said Jane Doe testing
is not offered unless a medical professional fears the victim will leave
without the option.
"Of course we encourage reporting. That's what we would like. But when
they're adamant they don't want to report - if we think, `She's going to
walk out if she has to go through with this,' - that's when we offer it,"
Lenz said.
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