Podcast Summary: "Selects: How Rape Kits Work"

Stuff You Should Know – iHeartPodcasts

Hosts: Josh Clark and Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant
Original Air Date: April 2, 2019 (republished Aug 16, 2025)

Overview

In this deeply important and sensitive episode, Josh and Chuck break down the history, mechanics, and real-world impact of rape kits (sexual assault evidence collection kits). They focus on the necessity of these kits, the challenges around access, backlogs, and the distressing reality of untested and destroyed rape kits. The discussion is direct but compassionate, offering a crucial resource for understanding the intersection of criminal justice, public health, and survivor advocacy.

Trigger Warning

“If you saw the title about rape kits, hopefully that is the trigger warning you need. But we might as well just say it out loud. Trigger warning for this one.”
— Chuck Bryant (04:41)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Definitions and Purpose of Rape Kits

• What is a rape kit?
  • Also called Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits (SAECKs)
  • A box containing tools and step-by-step instructions for collecting potential evidence of sexual assault
  • Meant to be used by professionals in forensic settings; thorough enough that even someone not specially trained can follow directions (06:09)

"Inside this box is all the stuff you need to collect the evidence of a sexual assault."
— Josh Clark (06:19)

• Chain of custody is crucial
  • Kits must be collected, documented, and stored by professionals to maintain legal integrity (07:16)

2. Origins and Evolution

• Invention and Spread
  • Standardized rape kits emerged in the late 1970s, first adopted by Chicago PD (07:48)
  • Early versions called “Vitullo kits,” attributed to Chicago forensic officer Louis (or Lou) Vitullo, who standardized kit procedures (08:35)
• True Inventor: Martha “Marty” Goddard
  • Survivor and activist who created the functional concept, sourced funding (notably from the Playboy Foundation), and advocated for affordable, accessible kits (10:18)
  • Kits deliberately kept inexpensive to widen access ($5–$25 per kit) (07:09, 13:19)

“She formed a group called Citizens for Victims Assistance in the 1970s and went to work [...] learning and working on everyone she could about how to get a better system going.”
— Chuck Bryant (11:31)

3. How Rape Kits Actually Work

• The Exam Process
  • Ideally performed within 24 hours of the assault (can be effective up to three days)
  • Emergency rooms are the primary setting, often with specially trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (“SANE nurses”) in larger cities (20:10, 26:24)
  • Invasive, multi-hour process:
    • Oral and physical history is taken
    • Swabbing, evidence collection from relevant body areas
    • Blood and urine samples for DNA baseline and drug screening
    • Clothing and any materials that may hold evidence sealed for analysis (23:32, 29:41)
  • Consent is sought at every step; survivors can refuse any procedure (27:56)
  • Evidence is strictly sealed, labeled, and chain of custody established (34:20)

4. Accessibility and Barriers

• Cost and Funding
  • The kit/examination itself should not incur a charge to the victim; however, medical treatment and prescriptions related to injury or post-assault care often do (31:55)
  • Pre–Affordable Care Act, rape could be considered a “pre-existing condition” for insurance purposes (33:02)
• Reporting
  • Undergoing a forensic exam does not obligate the survivor to file a police report (24:06)
  • Options for anonymous “Jane Doe/John Doe” evidence collection until/if the survivor is ready to report (24:27)
• Geographic Disparities
  • Rural hospitals often lack SANE nurses and may have more trouble funding complete and compassionate care (26:24)

5. Challenges: Backlogs and Kit Destruction

• The Backlog
  • Tens of thousands of completed kits sit untested for years, due to lack of lab resources, police priorities, and physical storage issues (40:43)
  • Examples: Detroit (11,000), Phoenix (3,000), Dallas (4,000), Memphis (12,000) (41:13)
• Consequences
  • Each untested kit represents a survivor who underwent a traumatic process, expecting justice
  • Recidivism rates for sexual offenders are high; backlog means repeat offenses are more likely (42:34)
• Efforts to Address
  • Federal and local funding (e.g., $150 million from Congress) have helped, but not eradicated the problem (43:12)
  • Laws in some states now mandate testing timelines (e.g., NY kits tested within 3 months) (44:17)
• Kit Destruction
  • Police departments have destroyed untested kits to make space, sometimes before statute of limitations runs out—irretrievable loss of evidence and chance for justice (46:30)
• Advocacy
  • High-profile figures like Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: SVU”) and her Joyful Heart Foundation advocate for clearing the backlog (45:28)
  • Call to action: donate and get involved at endthebacklog.org (46:02)

6. The Human and Legal Stakes

• The importance of preserving evidence
  • Helps catch serial offenders, exonerate the wrongly convicted, and provide closure or justice years after the fact (49:59)
  • DOJ recommends storing rape kit evidence for 50 years or statute of limitations, but state policies vary (50:01)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the role of the victim’s body:

  "The very reason that these kits exist is because sexual assault is a very unique kind of crime in that the victim, the body of the victim, is a crime scene."
  — Josh Clark (19:14)

• The emotional toll of reporting:

  “It's going to take a few hours. It's not a quick procedure. ... You should expect to be treated very gently and with a tremendous amount of respect... and I would guess to a hospital, there will be counselors.”
  — Josh Clark (25:27)

• On chain of custody:

  “Every single person who takes custody of that [kit] is supposed to sign the label... so there’s a clear chain of custody.”
  — Josh Clark (34:20)

• On backlog impact:

  “Every single one of those kits represents a person who found the wherewithal to drag himself or herself to the ER and go through this hours-long procedure and suffer a second violation… and the cops didn't even bother to send it to the lab. That is a third violation.”
  — Josh Clark (42:13)

• The shock of destruction:

  “This isn't sitting on a shelf. This isn't untested. This is, we threw them away.”
  — Chuck Bryant (47:06)

• Call to Action:

  “Go to inthebacklog.org for sure [...] if you don't have money to give, there are other things you can do.”
  — Chuck Bryant (46:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:27 – Connection to Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Day of Action
• 05:06 – Sexual assault impacts across gender spectrum
• 07:09 – Discussion of at-home kits and chain of custody
• 08:12 – History: First kits and early impact
• 10:18 – Martha Goddard’s activism, the role of the Playboy Foundation
• 13:19 – Kit cost and Goddard’s influence on affordability
• 14:01 – DNA evidence and current kit standards
• 19:14 – “The body as crime scene” explanation
• 20:10 – Time sensitivity: 24-hour window
• 23:32 – Clothing and evidence collection tips for survivors
• 24:06 – Not required to report to police for kit/exam
• 26:24 – SANE nurses and rural care
• 27:56 – Consent and trauma-informed care
• 31:55 – Cost breakdown: what is/is not charged
• 33:02 – Pre–ACA “rape as pre-existing condition”
• 34:20 – Chain of custody explained
• 40:43 – National scope of the backlog
• 41:10 – City-by-city backlog statistics
• 42:13 – Emotional toll and impact on justice
• 43:12 – Federal funding overview
• 44:17 – State laws and the SAFER Act
• 46:30 – Kit destruction and advocacy
• 49:59 – Importance for exonerating the innocent, Golden State Killer example
• 50:01 – DOJ storage recommendations
• 51:35–52:14 – Recent news examples of kits cracking cases years later

Resources and Follow-Up

• End the Backlog / Joyful Heart Foundation – Advocacy, resources, and actions for addressing rape kit backlog
• National Sexual Violence Resource Center: nsvrc.org
• Find state-by-state laws and resources: RAINN

Final Thoughts

Chuck and Josh urge listeners to recognize the ongoing crisis around rape kit funding, backlogs, and destruction, and to advocate and donate where possible. They emphasize the systemic and tragic barriers still facing sexual assault survivors and the critical, yet often under-resourced, role of forensic evidence in seeking justice.

“Just having this stuff entered into CODIS is huge, because... the value that that has for a victim to know that that person was caught and is finally going to pay for their crime can’t be measured…”
— Chuck Bryant (48:39)

“If you want to know more about rape kits, just do what Chuck said and search it on your favorite search engines. News. Okay.”
— Josh Clark (52:14)

Note: This summary omits advertising and unrelated podcast promo segments. The approach of the hosts is earnest, careful, and direct, creating an accessible resource for understanding a difficult but critical subject.