With so many seasons and spinoffs of Law & Order in the world, it’s hard to imagine a time when victims of sexual assault were not approached with that combination of science and psychology that is the modern-day rape kit.
But a new book by journalist Pagan Kennedy seeks to piece together the cloudy history of that ubiquitous crime-fighting tool and give credit where credit is due.
The Secret History of the Rape Kit tells the story of Martha “Marty” Goddard, a crisis hotline volunteer who made it her mission to bring sexual predators to justice. In the early 1970s, Goddard launched a campaign to push hospitals and police departments to carefully collect evidence of sexual assault and treat survivors with dignity. She developed a new kind of forensics tool with items you could buy at any pharmacy, and it included instructions for how to best collect and preserve the evidence.
The rape kit was so revolutionary that one sits in the Smithsonian. But it’s labeled the Vitullo Evidence Collection Kit — named for a Chicago police sergeant rather than Goddard herself. Kennedy spent years tracking down the full story, and the book reflects that troubling history along with the author’s personal experiences and motivation.
Actor Claire Danes narrates the audio of this short but noteworthy book, which offers yet another example of a woman lost to history. Marty Goddard’s work transformed criminal justice, and Kennedy’s sleuthing reveals a hidden hero that should be a household name.
