Joyful Heart Foundation

OUR MISSION IS TO TRANSFORM SOCIETY'S RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND CHILD ABUSE, SUPPORT SURVIVORS' HEALING, AND END THIS VIOLENCE FOREVER.

IN 2023, WE HELPED PASS 26 BILLS RELATED TO OUR SIX PILLARS OF REFORM IN 20 STATES. WE HAD AN ESPECIALLY SUCCESSFUL YEAR IN 2023 IN THE SOUTHERN STATES: MISSISSIPPI PASSED ITS FIRST EVER PILLARS: MANDATORY TESTING OF NEW KITS AND VICTIMS' RIGHT TO KNOW THE STATUS OF THEIR KIT LAWS. LOUISIANA PASSED A TRACKING SYSTEM BILL. ALABAMA PASSED AN INVENTORY BILL, AND THUS WILL COUNT ITS UNTESTED KITS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. COLORADO ENACTED A TRACKING SYSTEM LAW, JOINING THE LIST OF FULL REFORM STATES. MANY STATES MADE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN TESTING BACKLOGGED KITS AND CREATING TRACKING SYSTEMS. OVERALL, THE 26 BILLS PASSED THIS YEAR TOUCHED THE LIVES OF 145 MILLION PEOPLE. IN TOTAL, 14 STATES ALLOCATED $57,550,599 IN TOTAL FOR RAPE KIT REFORM THIS YEAR ALONE. THE POLICY TEAM FREQUENTLY PROVIDES TECHNICAL POLICY ASSISTANCE TO VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS, ADVOCATES AND ORGANIZATIONS AT THE STATE, LOCAL AND FEDERAL LEVELS. THIS INCLUDES PROVIDING BACKGROUND MATERIALS, ADVICE ON DRAFTING BILL LANGUAGE, REVISING AND ADVISING ON LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE, AND PROVIDING POLICY MEMOS ABOUT THE NEEDS OF SURVIVORS. IN 2023, WE PROVIDED TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO EIGHT STATES IN THE FORM OF MEMOS, FACT SHEETS, BILL DRAFTS, LETTERS OF SUPPORT, AND TESTIMONIES. IN APRIL 2023, WE WERE AWARDED WITH THE WEBBY PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD IN THE LAW CATEGORY FOR OUR WEBSITE WE HAD BUILT THE PREVIOUS YEAR, WWW.ENDTHEBACKLOG.ORG. THE NEW WEBSITE ALLOWS EASIER ACCESS TO OUR RESOURCES WITH A MORE INTERACTIVE INTERPHASE. THE POLICY TEAM CONTINUES ITS WORK TO IMPLEMENT BACKEND AUTOMATION TO ENHANCE WEBSITE UPDATE EFFICIENCY, TO SAVE THE POLICY TEAM HOURS OF WORK EVERY YEAR, AND TO AVOID HUMAN ERROR. WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF ELEVATING OUR MESSAGING ABOUT OUR WORK ADDRESSING RAPE KIT REFORM AND SHARING SURVIVOR NARRATIVES. THIS YEAR, WE HAVE DELVED INTO THE IDEA OF PRODUCING A SERIES OF PODCAST EPISODES TO HIGHLIGHT BOTH SUCCESS STORIES AND THE CHALLENGES FACED WITHIN THIS FIELD. WE ARE LOOKING AT STARTING WITH TWO PODCAST EPISODES, ONE ON THE BACKLOG AND ONE ON IMAGE BASED SEXUAL ABUSE (IBSA), SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THIS YEAR, WE ALSO HELD AND ATTENDED IN-PERSON EVENTS TO RAISE THE PUBLIC AWARENESS ON RAPE KIT ISSUES. WE HELD A TWO-DAY EVENT WITH A PANEL DISCUSSION AND A TRAINING IN MAINE ON RAPE KIT REFORM WITH EXPERTS FROM THE FIELD. WE HAD 100 PARTICIPANTS BOTH DAYS INCLUDING THE STATE CRIME LAB DIRECTOR, FORENSIC ANALYSTS, ADVOCATES, SANES, POLICE OFFICERS, LAWYERS, PROSECUTORS, AND ELECTED OFFICIALS. IN NEW YORK, WE SPOKE AT A PRESS EVENT FOR THE ADULT SURVIVORS ACT, ALONGSIDE OTHER ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND ATTENDED A SCREENING OF THE NEW DOCUMENTARY, "THIS IS WHERE I LEARNED NOT TO SLEEP AND SPOKE ON THE PANEL AFTERWARDS. WE ALSO SPOKE ABOUT THE NY STATE RAPE KIT TRACKING SYSTEM, ITS IMPACT ON HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND VICTIMS AT AN INFORMATIVE MEETING WITH HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS HOSTED BY THE NEW YORK CITY ALLIANCE AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT. THIS YEAR, THE POLICY TEAM ALSO SUPPORTED THE DEBBIE SMITH ACT, THE SHIELD ACT, THE BIPARTISAN RAPE KIT BACKLOG PROGRESS ACT, AND THE SAKI APPROPRIATIONS AT THE FEDERAL. DEBBIE SMITH ACT PROVIDES A FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES FUNDING TO STATE CRIME LABS FOR DNA BACKLOGS GENERALLY, WITH A FOCUS ON PRIORITIZING RAPE KITS. THE SHIELD ACT WOULD PROVIDE FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO ADDRESS ONLINE ABUSE. THE BACKLOG PROGRESS ACT WOULD REQUIRE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THAT RECEIVE FEDERAL BYRNE JAG FUNDING TO REPORT WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE CONDUCTED A COMPREHENSIVE INVENTORY OF UNTESTED KITS AND IF RESULTS WERE UPLOADED INTO THE COMBINED DNA INDEX SYSTEM (CODIS). JOYFUL HEART PARTICIPATED IN TWO AMICUS CURIAE BRIEFS, WHICH ARE FILED BY ORGANIZATIONS WITH RELEVANT EXPERTISE TO ASSIST COURTS IN THEIR DECISIONS. THE FIRST BRIEF, SUPPORTED BY AEQUITAS, ADDRESSED A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE IN OHIO. JOYFUL HEART HELPED SECURE LEGAL SUPPORT AND RALLIED NATIONAL AND OHIO ORGANIZATIONS FOR BACKING. THE SECOND BRIEF, SUBMITTED TO THE NY COURT OF APPEALS IN PEOPLE V. HARVEY WEINSTEIN, ARGUED FOR THE ADMISSIBILITY OF PRIOR BAD ACTS AS EVIDENCE, SUPPORTING WEINSTEIN'S CONVICTION.