Revolutionizing Evidence Collection and scaling resources for sexual assault survivors
The goal of this project is to support and supplement existing systems and resources around sexual assault.
I created a resource hub and Early-Evidence Kit to bridge gaps in supporting and informing communities on addressing sexual assault and caring for survivors.
Failure to protect and heal.
Survivors are not capturing time-sensitive DNA evidence and are not receiving the proper care in the aftermath.
It’s important to know the following…
1 in 6 women in America are survivors of an attempted or completed rape.
Only 31% of survivors report to the police and are 10x more likely to attempt suicide.
There are just over 1,000 sexual nurse examiners in the nation. Meaning, up to 30 hours of wait time for an examination.
During and after the pandemic, survivors may be more deterred than ever from seeking help in an emergency department
• 79% of female survivors don’t receive post-assault medical treatment.
The age range with the highest risk for sexual assault and rape is 12–34.
1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while attending college.
In 2019 alone, 2.5M college students were sexually assaulted.
Conducted user interviews with 6 SANE nurses as well as secondary research to better understand:
What does the system currently look like for sexual assault survivors?
The objective of these interviews was to understand the process and pinpoint where support is insufficient, aiming to address those gaps effectively.
The rape kit exam can take around 2 to 4+ hours.
Poked, prodded, swabbed, and photographed in areas where the patient may have experienced violation.
Results could take years due to the Criminal Justice System not prioritizing the kits, leaving them untested in crime labs.
Conducted user interviews with 5 survivors who generously shared their experience to better understand:
How do you feel about the current system for sexual assault survivors?
The objective of these interviews was to identify their challenges and pinpoint where support is insufficient within the system, aiming to address those gaps effectively.
SANE nurses are limited which means hard to find and not friendly for time-sensitive evidence collection.
Reported that sexual assault exams are long, intrusive, and re-traumatizing.
A few reasons survivors don’t report include, humiliation, self-blame, shame, fear of system, not ready, intrusive.
How might we enhance and complement the current system to aid survivors in collecting time-sensitive evidence through a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach?
Rape kit examinations are long and intrusive. This could re-trigger a survivor’s trauma from their assault.
Create a condensed and simplified version of the rape kit that is trauma-informed and is less intrusive.
Rape kit examinations are not always accessible during emergencies, which creates an issue with time-sensitive DNA collection.
Create a solution that gives survivors access to a kit 24/7, in case of emergencies.
Due to insufficient support and prioritization in kit testing, the system lacks trust and leaves kits untested in crime labs for years, resulting in a significant backlog issue affecting thousands of cases.
Create a solution that helps speed up the kit testing process while maintaining credibility within the chain of custody. Also provide more post-assault trauma-informed tools.
Conducted a survey with 27 students asking how supported they feel on campus when it comes to sexual assault and sexual wellness and how they felt after being introduced to these product.
Results showed a 500% increase in satisfaction towards sexual assault resources and wellness tools created.
I feel very supported after being given access to Leda Health's services because I know exactly what the services include, and I know those resources will be there for me if I ever need them, and I won't feel ashamed to use them.
EEK won the 2022 CES Innovation Award in reflection of outstanding achievement in design and engineering.
Made headlines with over 1,000+ individual mentions in press and impressions totaling over 1 billion.
