Silver Springs, MD — Experts at the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault have issued a warning against a new product on the market, an at-home sexual assault kit.
Marketed under the name “Me Too Kits,” theses kits are advertised as “the first ever sexual assault evidence kit for at-home use.”
The company behind the kit has sent marketing materials to colleges around the country.
While on the surface, this may sound like a good idea, MCASA is strongly discouraging universities or anyone else from purchasing the kits as they are not a good alternative to a forensic medical exam.
First and foremost, the kits cannot detect or treat any physical injuries that might have occurred as the result of an assault.
Forensic medical exams also offer sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy prevention options along with forensic evidence collection.
At-home do not protect chain of custody and evidence integrity and do not include evidence testing.
Furthermore, MCASA warns, the kits do not address victim privacy and do not help prevent sexual assault.
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence is also speaking out against the kits. They warn that the kits place an emphasis on DNA preservation and that with the majority of assaults being perpetrated by someone the victim knows, that’s not the most important part of the exam.
NAESV also cautions, ” Forensic exam following a rape requires a specially trained medical professional, often a sexual assault nurse examiner or forensic examiner.”
On their website, the company behind the kits says, “Evidence collection is administered within the confines of the survivor’s chosen place of safety. MeToo also provides additional means of support via our mobile application, eliminating the guesswork out of the documentation process, and allowing the survivor to focus on what matters most: their recovery.”
However, the Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association says that while these kits address real-world issues, “By claiming to offer a viable alternative to a hospital-based forensic exam, Me Too Kits actually risk damaging any collectible evidence and removing a survivor’s option to obtain an examination that can be used as evidence in future criminal proceedings.”