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 2021, THE NUMBER OF RAPE KIT REFORM BILLS WENT BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS: 33 STATES INTRODUCED 57 BILLS RELATED TO OUR SIX PILLARS OF RAPE KIT REFORM, OF WHICH 19 STATES PASSED 24 BILLS. FOUR STATES REQUIRED AN INVENTORY OF UNTESTED KITS (MT, ND, SD, WA); ONE STATE REQUIRED FORWARD TESTING TIMELINES (WI) WHILE ANOTHER IMPROVED ITS KIT HANDLING PROCESSES (TN); SIX STATES REQUIRED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRACKING SYSTEM BY LAW (FL, GA, IA, ND, TN, WI), WHILE TWO STATES IMPROVED CURRENT SYSTEMS (CA, IL); EIGHT STATES GRANTED SURVIVORS THE RIGHT TO KNOW THE STATUS OF THEIR KITS OR IMPROVED SUCH LAWS (AL, CO, IL, IA, MT, OK, TN, WA); AND NINE STATES GRANTED FIRST-TIME OR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR RAPE KIT REFORM (CA, CT, IL, MD, MA, MO, OH, TX, WA). CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O.WE SENT LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR 16 BILLS AND PROVIDED WRITTEN AND ORAL TESTIMONY VIA PHONE OR VIDEO CONFERENCE FOR NINE BILLS. WE ALSO SUPPORTED AB1171 IN CALIFORNIA, A BILL THAT ENDED A MARITAL RAPE EXCEPTION, AS WELL AS THE ADULT SURVIVORS ACT IN NEW YORK. UNDER A TWO-YEAR GRANT WE RECEIVED FROM THE SCHUSTERMAN FOUNDATION, WE MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRENT LAWS AND INFORM FUTURE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS, POTENTIAL ENHANCEMENTS TO CURRENT LAWS, AND WAYS TO HOLD GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNTABLE TO THEIR RAPE KIT REFORM COMMITMENTS. IN THE FALL 2021, THE POLICY TEAM CARRIED OUT A LENGTHY IMPLEMENTATION AUDIT IN OVER 30 STATES. THROUGH THESE EFFORTS WE RECEIVED UPDATED BACKLOG NUMBERS FOR IOWA, LOUISIANA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW MEXICO, PENNSYLVANIA, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND WASHINGTON. WE ALSO CONFIRMED THAT ALASKA IS ON TRACK TO ESTABLISH A RAPE KIT TRACKING SYSTEM, HAWAII AND IOWA TRACKING SYSTEMS WENT LIVE, AND VIRGINIA HAS ALLOCATED FUNDING TOWARDS REFORM, MAKING THEM A SIX PILLAR STATE. PURSUANT TO AB3118, A JOYFUL HEART SPONSORED LAW, THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PUBLISHED AN INVENTORY REPORT, WHERE ONLY 149 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND CRIME LABS OUT OF 708 SUBMITTED DATA. TO UNCOVER THE TRUE EXTENT OF THE BACKLOG, WE ISSUED PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS TO THE 21 LARGEST CITIES THAT HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN THE INVENTORY. AS OF DECEMBER 2021, TEN JURISDICTIONS PROVIDED SUFFICIENT DATA, SIX PROVIDED PARTIAL DATA, WHILE FIVE DID NOT PROVIDE ANY DATA. IN THE 16 JURISDICTIONS THAT RESPONDED, 18,459 KITS WERE COLLECTED, 11,306 OF WHICH WERE SUBMITTED FOR TESTING, 246 WERE ANONYMOUS, 1595 WERE DESTROYED, AND 3892 WERE NOT TESTED FOR VARIOUS REASONS. WE ALSO SUBMITTED PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS TO NASSAU COUNTY, THE LARGEST JURISDICTION IN NEW YORK THAT FAILED TO SUBMIT DATA TO THE STATEWIDE INVENTORY, AND EIGHT OF TEXAS' TEN LARGEST CITIES THAT FAILED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INVENTORY. WE SUBMITTED OUR CHAPTER FOR A SAKI RELATED RESEARCH PROJECT AT CASE WESTERN UNIVERSITY. OUR CHAPTER IS ABOUT THE HISTORY AND THE FUTURE OF RAPE KIT REFORM, THE ORIGIN OF THE SIX PILLAR APPROACH, AND LEGISLATIVE TRENDS. THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO DISPLAY ALL OF OUR UNIQUE DATA WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER THE YEARS, AND CONTRIBUTE WHAT WE KNOW TO THE REST OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD. WE CONTINUED TO EDUCATE THE WHITE HOUSE AND BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT INITIATIVE, WHICH WAS AT $60 MILLION IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE APPROPRIATIONS BILLS. WE HAVE BEEN JOINING THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE TO END DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE STEERING COMMITTEE CALLS ABOUT VAWA. JOYFUL HEART TOOK PART IN A DAY OF ACTION IN OCTOBER TO PUSH THE SENATE TO ACT ON THE BILL; IT HAS PASSED THE HOUSE. WE SIGNED ON TO A STAKEHOLDER LETTER TO THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF HB4445, THE ENDING FORCED ARBITRATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACT OF 2021. THIS BILL EMPOWERS SURVIVORS BY ELIMINATING THE USE OF FORCED ARBITRATION CLAUSES IN CASES INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT. WE ALSO SIGNED A STAKEHOLDER LETTER SUPPORTING THE CHILD RESCUE ACT WHICH DIRECTS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES TO CONVENE A U.S. WORKING GROUP ON CHILDREN IN IMMINENT DANGER.