This video and accompanying transcript covers a conversation with Natasha Alexenko, a sexual assault survivor, as she discusses the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the response to sexual assault, and she discusses the role of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in supporting these efforts.
Ms. Alexenko founded a national organization called Natasha's Justice Project, which is dedicated to empowering survivors of sexual assault throughout the Nation. One focus is to ensure that any evidence collected for sexual assault kits is tested. In her own case, which involved an unknown assailant, her rape kit was un-tested for years. Over the extended time period that elapsed without an arrest, the statute of limitations loomed. In order to prevent that from occurring, she testified in what is called a John Doe indictment, which ensured that if her assailant was eventually identified, he could be charged for his crime. He was eventually identified, convicted, and imprisoned. In her continuing interest in the efficient management and testing of rape kits, she and her project focus on the involvement of a multidisciplinary team as the key. Law enforcement personnel must work with the sexual assault nurse examiners, the advocates, the victim, and the prosecutor's office. Through continuing interaction, communication, and monitoring activity, this team can ensure that all phases of rape case management are performed effectively and efficiently.