By Brendan Browne
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Department of Justice to ensure that rape victims receive free medical treatment and forensic examinations after they are attacked.
Schumer joined rape victim activists outside Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan to demand that the Justice Department hold up a 2000 congressional act that was meant to force states to fund the examinations, or so-called “rape kits,” which they say cost between $800 and $1,500.
“Forcing rape survivors to pay the cost of their own evidence collection is like asking the family of a homicide victim to pay for the autopsy,” said Schumer. “Paying the cost of collecting the evidence should fall to the government, not the victim.”
Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act, Congress agreed to fund state programs related to sexual assault forensic examination training and, in return, states would shoulder the costs of the rape kits, Schumer said.
According to Schumer, several states, including New York, have not completely held up their end of the bargain. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has continued forking over funds, including allocating of $7.2 million to New York this year for forensics training, the senator said.
In New York, only the uninsured can count on the state’s Crime Victims Board to pay for a rape kit, and even then the process is cumbersome, requiring a police report and much paperwork, rape victim activists say. Those with insurance must report medical needs to their insurance provider, further infringing upon their privacy.
“It discourages survivors from going through with the whole process,” said Carole Sher, victims services coordinator at Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan. “It’s always stirring up the whole process for them. It’s very retraumatizing. It keeps the whole event alive.”
Harriet Lessel, director of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, said rape victims often feel ashamed and afraid to sacrifice any of their privacy, which can inhibit the criminal investigation. If hospitals simply sent a bill to the state, requiring only the signature of the victim, more rape survivors might be less reluctant to go for medical attention and prosecute their attackers, she said.
Schumer said he is pushing for congressional legislation that would allocate more than $100 million for sexual assault forensic exams.
Reach reporter Brendan Browne by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 155.
