Sexual Assault Kit Backlog

Dr. Rebecca Campbell is a professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. She holds a Ph.D. in community psychology with a concentration in statistics, also from Michigan State University. Most recently, she was the lead researcher for the National Institute of Justice-funded Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Action Research Project, which was a four-year multidisciplinary study of Detroit’s untested rape kits.

Dr. Katie Gregory is is a Professor of Ecological-Community Psychology at Michigan State University and the Director of the Michigan Victim Advocacy Network (MiVAN), funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Victim Services. Dr. Gregory’s research examines how medical, legal, and social service systems respond to survivors of sexual assault and more broadly, survivors of gender-based violence. Most recently, Dr. Gregory is a co-investigator for a National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) funded project through the Michigan State Police, examining a community’s SAKI team response, including the re-opening, re-investigation, and decision to prosecute cases related to previously untested rape kits.

Episode 1

Campbell, Rebecca. (2014). “Sexual Assault ‘Action Research’ in Detroit” interview, National Institute of Justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iui_vnoPDU0

Campbell, R., Fehler-Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Bybee, D., Shaw, J., & Feeney, H. (2015). The Detroit Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Action Research Project (ARP), final report. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248680.pdf

Campbell, R., Fehler-Cabral, G., & Horsford, S. (2017). Creating a victim notification protocol for untested sexual assault kits: An empirically supported planning framework. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 13(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000139

Campbell, R., Feeney, H., Goodman-Williams, R., Sharma, D. B., & Pierce, S. J. (2020). Connecting the dots: Identifying suspected serial sexual offenders through forensic DNA evidence. Psychology of Violence, 10(3), 255–267. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000243

Pierce, S. J., & Zhang, Z. (2011). Projected numbers of evidence kits expected to reach different stages of forensic analysis: A summary based on data from the 400 Project. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Center for Statistical Training and Consulting.

Strom, K., Scott, T., Feeney, H., Young, A., Couzens, L., & Berzofsky, M. (2021). How much justice is denied? An estimate of unsubmitted sexual assault kits in the United States. Journal of Criminal Justice, 73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101746

Episode 2

Campbell, R., Gregory, K., Javorka, M., Engleton, J., Goodman-Williams, R., and Fishwick, K. (2022). Evaluating A Victim Notification Protocol For Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs): How Do Survivors Define Justice Years After an Assault? Final Research Report, Office on Violence Against Women, Award 2018-SI-AX-001. Retrieved from: https://psychology.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/eco-comm/Campbell%202018-SI-AX-0001–FINAL%20PROJECT%20REPORT.pdf

Campbell, R., Shaw, J., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2018). Evaluation of a Victim-Centered, Trauma-Informed Victim Notification Protocol for Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs). Violence Against Women, 24(4), 379–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217699090

Campbell, R., Engleton, J., Gregory, K., Goodman-Williams, R., & Javorka, M. (2023). “It Made Me Feel Like Someone Wasn’t Doing Their Job:” Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Victim Notifications and Institutional Betrayal by the Criminal Legal System. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2023.2231914

• Evaluating a Victim Notification Protocol for Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) final research report. [PDF, 92 pages]
• Victim Defined Safety Planning: A Summary
• Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Victim Notification Toolkit
• SAKI Palm Card

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