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Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits: Changing What We Know About Rape

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Price
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Duration
90 Minutes

Originally Aired
November 1, 2016

Rachel Lovell
Rachel Lovell, PhD
Co-Lead Researcher on the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit Research Study
Brett Kyker
Brett Kyker
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office; Supervisor, Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force

Starting in 2013, the Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio) Sexual Assault Kit Task Force began investigating and prosecuting cases from approximately 5,000 previously unsubmitted SAKs from 1993 to 2009. In the Fall of 2014, The Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education was approached by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO) for the purposes of understanding more about these unsubmitted SAKs. Funded by the CCPO, the researcher team was given access to the SAK case files, and they coded a random sample of 243 sexual assaults case files with completed investigations that either resulted in prosecution or were not pursued due to insufficient evidence.

This webinar will detail key findings from this research study and discuss how these findings are being used to inform and reform how sexual assaults are investigated and prosecuted. Topics include:

  • Characteristics of the victims and offenders
  • Similarities and differences between sex offenders who are connected with one sexual assault versus more than one (serial offenses)
  • Offending patterns for serial sex offenders, stranger sexual assaults, multiple offender sexual assaults, and captivity sexual assaults
  • An exploration of what happened with sexual assault cases “then vs. now”
  • Victim “vulnerabilities” and their impact on prosecutorial outcomes
  • Cost savings of testing previously unsubmitted kits

Objectives

Following the webinar, participants will be better able to:

  • Recognize the complex issues surrounding unsubmitted SAKs
  • Identify the research methods employed in this study
  • Evaluate how sexual assaults are processed through the criminal justice system (e.g., what happens with a sexual assault report)
  • Appreciate why an examination of the sexual assault kit case files provides greater insight into victims, offenders, and offending patters
  • Recognize how research findings can be employed to inform and improve current practice

This project is supported by Grant No. 2013-TA-AX-K045 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

With a paid registration or subscription, you are free to personally listen to this webinar, as many times as you wish. You may also excerpt or cite the material following accepted conventions. However, you may not allow other individuals to listen to this webinar without their own registration or subscription.

This content is for Monthly Webinar Subscription, Annual Webinar Subscription, Lifetime Webinar Subscription, Bronze Agency Webinar Subscription (1-10 users), Silver Agency Webinar Subscription (11-25 users), Gold Agency Webinar Subscription (26-50 users), Platinum Agency Webinar Subscription (51-500 users), Webinar: Neurobiology of Sexual Assault – Part 2: Experience and Memory, Webinar: Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits: Changing What We Know About Rape, Webinar: Alternative Responses to Intimate Partner Prosecution: From Diversion to High Lethality, Webinar: Start by Believing: The Johnnetta McSwain Story: “Why Did Nobody Believe Us, Why, Why?”, Webinar: Understanding and Responding to Hate Against AAPI Communities, Lifetime Access – Violence Against Women and Exploitation by Illegal Street Gangs, Lifetime Access – Talking To Killers and Non-Lethal Abusers: What Can They Tell Us About Sexual Coercion and Jealousy, Lifetime Access – Getting It Right: Medical and Law Enforcement Responses to Trans Patients/Survivors , Lifetime Access – Innovation Meets Practice: How to Integrate Seek Then Speak into Your Local Sexual Assault Response, Caring for Deaf survivors: How can we do better?, Lifetime Access – “Nose Rings and Ankle Holsters” – A Discussion on Advocates and Cops, Lifetime Access – Preparing a Survivor to Testify: Beyond Sips of Water and Fidget Toys, Lifetime Access – Meeting Patients/Survivors Where They Are: Trauma-Informed Responses to Mental Health Effects, Webinar: Preventing Domestic Violence-Related Fatalities and Murder-Suicides: Turning Data Into Action, Webinar: Stop Fumbling the Victim Interview: Tools You Can Use Tomorrow, Webinar: Hey Siri, How Do You Increase Accountability & Safety in Stalking Cases?, Webinar: Seek Then Speak: A Simple Tool to Increase Survivors’ Access to Reporting and Services, Webinar: American Nightmare: Lessons from the Detective Who Got It Right, Webinar: Caring for Native Survivors: Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Exams, Webinar: Keep Calm and Testify On: A Practical Guide for Giving Expert Testimony , Webinar: Understanding and Confronting Vicarious Trauma, Webinar: Prepare for Court with the SAMFE Virtual Practicum, Webinar: Overcoming “Credibility Challenges” in Sexual Violence Investigations , Webinar: On the Record: Justice, Survivors, and the Media , Webinar: A Blueprint for Statewide Adoption of the Seek Then Speak Reporting Tool , Webinar: Something’s Missing in Our Response to Sexual Assault: Offender-Focused Investigations, Webinar: When Language Matters: A Strangulation Case Review of a Victim with Limited English Proficiency, Webinar: Culturally Responsive Care for Black Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, and Webinar: What Effective Campus Sexual Assault Response Looks Like members only.
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