In the aftermath of a sexual assault, survivors have the choice to undergo a medical forensic exam, a procedure which collects evidence in a sexual assault kit. Most who opt for the medical forensic exam will have their kit collected and released to law enforcement to support investigation of the assault.
One in five, however, will have a medical forensic exam, but not report their assault at that time. Few of those who elect the non-report kit will ever convert their kits into a full report. This raises questions about why survivors choose to undergo an invasive, intensive and uncomfortable medical forensic examination following an assault, but then decide that they do not want to see their kit processed.
Rachael Goodman-Williams
Assistant Professor of Psychology Rachael Goodman-Williams seeks to answer that very question.
“There’s a lot of literature on why survivors in general choose not to report,” Goodman-Williams said. “But there’s very little that’s specific to this group, the survivors who go to a hospital, have evidence collected and then choose not to use that evidence in a case.”
The Office of Violence Against Women, a subagency of the Department of Justice, recognized the importance of the project. It granted her and her community partner, Dr. Jessica Volz of the Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Maryland, $411,000 for the next three years.
She also received a subaward of $70,000 from RTI International as part of their Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Training and Technical Assistance Project, which aims to improve institutional sexual assault response practices.
“Our criminal-legal system has historically failed sexual assault survivors,” Goodman Williams said. “There has been progress in recent decades, but it is an uphill battle, one that requires nuance and diligent research.”
Goodman-Williams' five – yes, five – doctoral students also assist with data collection for her research agenda.
“Ultimately, my goal in research is to understand what survivors need from their community to navigate their experience in a way that promotes healing and minimizes harm,” Goodman-Williams said. “From our collective efforts, I hope to see policies that more fully reflect the needs of sexual assault survivors in all their complexity and variation.”