Emily Rosuck- 4th Period- Almost $80 Million Used for Rape Kit Testing

This week Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. is keeping up with his promise from last year, is sending $38 million taken from civil forfeiture from international banks and the money will be going to backlog rape kit testing, as well as an additional $41 million from the Justice Department. Over 60,000 backlog rape kits, which have been sitting on shelves for years, will finally be tested. Law enforcement agencies in 20 states will be receiving grants,  including police deparments in Kansas City, Miami, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia as well as crime labs in Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Utah. This is a huge step for the justice system, as rape kits have DNA of rapists from sexual assaults but are "expensive to test" causing many of them to remain untouched, and the offenders uncharged. Mr. Biden, how has been steadfast on helping the cause, says this will encourage more women to report sexual assaults, he wants these women to feel like they will receive justice, that they have not been forgotten, and he is absolutely right. So far, Houston cleared a backlog of 6,700 kits, some dating back to the 1980's, revealing over 850 matches in the DNA database system. Some of these matches are even related to unsolved crimes in other cities.
This is a huge deal because rape is such a growing national problem, as almost 300,000 women are assaulted each year. Recently though, many women have not been reporting these rapes because rape kits were expensive to test and could take up to 10 years to get put through the system. This is extremely discouraging to the victims, as they know their offender will walk free. The testing of these rape kits will identify thousands of rapists and will ultimately change rape culture in America, which could not be more needed.
Vice President Biden has been supporting the end of sexual assault since 1994, when he sponsored the Violence Against Women Act, an act that first acknowledged the severity of violence against women in America. This made rapists accountable for their actions by strengthening federal penalties, and providing women, no matter their economic status, of financial aid, so the victims don't carry the burden of paying for tests and rape kits. Additionally, in order to keep victims safe, a federal law passed that a victim's protection order would be recognized in all states, territories, and jurisdictions in the United States. While this act was great in combating sexual assault, it didn't really fix the economic issue. Hopefully, by having this financial boost, there will be thousands of rapists charged and convicted of their crimes, and victims that can finally sleep peacefully at night.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/nyregion/city-prosecutor-using-millions-seized-from-banks-for-rape-kit-testing.html?_r=0