Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Law & Order: SVU Viewing Party Tomorrow! Celebrate Attorney General Lisa Madigan's Work for Victims of Sexual Assault
Just to give you an idea of how important legislation on rape and sexual assault is, more than 232,960 women in the US were raped in 2006 alone, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. That's more than 600 women every day.
The state of Illinois saw more than 5,610 rapes in the year 2001. But even more frightening than the magnitude of numbers of rapes and sexual assaults committed every year is the estimation that less than 30% of Illinois rapes are reported to the police, according to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. On top of that, so many of those reported cases are left uninvestigated or inconclusive.
Rape and sexual assault are crimes too frequently committed in our own backyard. It is essential that everything is done to find and charge attackers so as to ensure that they cannot assault another victim. Unfortunately, as of earlier this year, an estimated 4,000 untested rape kits were stored away in police departments throughout the state--cases of assault left uninvestigated. Luckily for us, Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided that something should be done.
Because of Lisa Madigan's work, the Illinois Rape Kit Law was passed into law on July 6 of this year. The law is the first of its kind passed on the state-level, making Illinois the pioneer state in justice for rape and sexual assault victims. Madigan's historic Rape Kit Law mandates the testing of evidence collected in cases of sexual assault. Investigating law enforcement agencies are required to submit all evidence of sexual assault to crime labs within 10 days of receiving it from the hospital, and are required by law to provide the Illinois state police with an inventory of all untested kits in their possession.
With Lisa Madigan's help, Illinois rapes and sexual assaults will no longer go uninvestigated. Illinois women can feel safer and more empowered to report assaults to the police knowing that everything will be done to ensure justice is served.
Tomorrow, to celebrate the Attorney General's work on the historic Rape Kit law, Citizens for Lisa Madigan is hosting a viewing party of this week's Law & Order: SVU. This week's episode highlights the importance of Illinois' groundbreaking rape kit law. Guests will be given the opportunity to learn more and discuss Lisa Madigan's critical work for survivors of sexual assault. Drinks and light dinner will be also be provided.