Poetry. Women's Studies. As her perp comes up for parole, witness tw recalls the objects he brought to the assault. She tracks rape as a signature crime of US history and Western Civ and tests the (often underwater) escape routes offered by sources personal, mythic, and geologic. Whatever else can be said of her attempts, she joins a hyphenated line of women who must angle through and over their own raped bodies to note what lies down with the language of violence. In the process she assembles her own rape kit/ evidence bag, climbs through various holes in the text, and names some perps.

Longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Nonfiction TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2020 New York Times New & Noteworthy Audiobooks Lit Hubs Most Anticipated Books of 2020 Starred Review Publishers Weekly Starred Review Shelf Awareness "Is Rape a Crime? is beautifully written and compellingly told. In 2020, we were all looking for solutions and this book was right on time. It is one we should all be reading." —Anita Hill "This standout memoir marks a crucial moment in the discussion of what constitutes a violent crime." —Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2020 She Said meets Know My Name in Michelle Bowdler's provocative debut, telling the story of her rape and recovery while interrogating why one of society's most serious crimes goes largely uninvestigated. The crime of rape sizzles like a lightning strike. It pounces, flattens, destroys. A person stands whole, and in a moment of unexpected violence, that life, that body is gone. Award-winning writer and public health executive Michelle Bowdler's memoir indicts how sexual violence has been addressed for decades in our society, asking whether rape is a crime given that it is the least reported major felony, least successfully prosecuted, and fewer than 3% of reported rapes result in conviction. Cases are closed before they are investigated and DNA evidence sits for years untested and disregarded Rape in this country is not treated as a crime of brutal violence but as a parlor game of he said / she said. It might be laughable if it didn’t work so much of the time. Given all this, it seems fair to ask whether rape is actually a crime. In 1984, the Boston Sexual Assault Unit was formed as a result of a series of break-ins and rapes that terrorized the city, of which Michelle’s own horrific rape was the last. Twenty years later, after a career of working with victims like herself, Michelle decides to find out what happened to her case and why she never heard from the police again after one brief interview. Is Rape a Crime? is an expert blend of memoir and cultural investigation, and Michelle's story is a rallying cry to reclaim our power and right our world.

When Louis R. Vitullo started as a "beat cop" with the Chicago Police Department in 1951 he couldn't have guessed the impact he would make on the history of forensics. As Sergeant and then Chief Microanalyst of the crime lab, he oversaw some of Chicago's most notorious cases, which allowed him to address flaws in crime scene investigation. In 1978 he created the Vitullo Evidence Collection Kit, now known as Rape Kits, which standardized the collection of evidence in sexual assault cases. These "Vitullo Kits" have increased the convictions of sexual offenders and improved survivors' ability to obtain justice by challenging biases toward sexual crimes and fighting victim shaming. Additionally, they assist in exonerating the wrongly accused. However, Vitullo never imagined that over 400,000 kits would be discovered untested and collecting dust in evidence lockers throughout the United States. He had done his part to help those affected by sexual assault crimes? why aren't we doing ours? The Power of Truth is the story of Louis R. Vitullo and the legacy of the rape kit as told by his granddaughter, a forensic psychologist who works with sexually deviant and serial offenders, a compelling chronicle of a family legacy addressing criminal justice reform.

In 1984, the Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK) was dubbed "Ontario’s most successful rapist trap." Since then, the kit has become the key source of evidence in the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault as well as a symbol of victims’ improved access to care and justice. Unfortunately, the SAEK has failed to live up to these promises. The Technoscientific Witness of Rape is the first book to chart the thirty year history of the sexual assault evidence kit and its role in a criminal justice system that re-victimizes many assault victims in their quest for medical treatment and justice. Drawing on actor-network theory and feminist technology studies, Andrea Quinlan combs through sixty-two interviews with police, nurses, scientists, and lawyers, as well as archival records and legal cases to trace changes in sexual assault forensics, law, advocacy, and anti-violence activism in Ontario. Through this history Quinlan bravely and provocatively argues that the SAEK reflects and reinforces the criminal justice system’s distrust of sexual assault victims.

Sexual Assault Kits and Reforming the Response to Rape curates the current state of untested sexual assault kit research and highlights emerging best practices by exploring the past, the present, and the future of our collective response to rape. This book is the first to address the most critical topics related to untested sexual assault kits and the Department of Justice’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, bringing together leading US scholars, practitioners, policy makers, and survivors. In a series of well-researched and thoughtful thematic chapters, the book explores the current state of knowledge related to untested kits, survivors, and perpetrators, while also documenting fundamental and necessary changes in how societal systems respond to rape. It provides an opportunity to learn from our past, highlight what we could do differently now, and envision a better future for victims of rape and those tasked with ensuring justice. It may also serve as a cautionary tale for those jurisdictions that have yet to face their backlog or who have failed to embrace the practice and policy changes that have emerged from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. Sexual Assault Kits and Reforming the Response to Rape is essential reading for practitioners (including law enforcement, prosecutors, victim advocates, mental health providers, forensic nurses, and forensic scientists), stakeholders, legislators, and policy makers. It will also be of interest to upper-level students and scholars working on interpersonal violence, gender-based violence, and forensic nursing in social/behavioral science fields.

And recommendations -- Sexual violence in Los Angeles County -- Untested rape kits in crime laboratories -- Untested rape kits in police storage -- Human rights law and responses to sexual violence -- Conclusions.