Columbia Missourian: Jen Shen’s piece on testing rape kits

Jen wrote a guest commentary in the Columbia Missourian titled “Test every rape kit? Not so fast” about the push to test every untested rape kit that sit in police evidence rooms around the country.

Shen discusses how sexual assault kit analysis has more legal and moral complexities than are apparent at first glance.

“When we test samples from a kit, it is possible the samples may contain a mixture of DNA, from both the attacker and from a consensual partner — or partners. In such cases, lab technicians are required to test “reference samples” to rule out the innocent. This means the victim must supply identifying information about those consensual partners, so samples from them can be collected. The victim is essentially being required to hand over to police investigators data about every recent intimate encounter he or she has had, how many, and with whom.”

Jennifer Shen

To read the full article, visit the Columbia Missourian.