The HBO documentary I Am Evidence, which will premiere next Monday at the Tribeca Film Festival, explores the reality of untested rape kits. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay produced the film, in which she visits Detroit, a city that made headlines in 2015 for its high number of untested rape kits.
Mariska Hargitay is bringing necessary awareness to the fractures in rape kit testing in the U.S.
Hargitay both produced and appears in the upcoming HBO documentary I Am Evidence, which aims to take a closer look at the problem of nearly 175,000 untested rape kits that have been uncovered throughout the country, according to End the Backlog. By focusing on both victims' accounts and the work of people like Kym Worthy, a Michigan county prosecutor who has pledged to test each of Detroit's 11,000 rape kits, the documentary hopes to combat this endemic problem.
While the Tribeca Film Festival has hundreds of opportunities for audiences to be entertained, informed and inspired, we’ve singled out the five social good-related films we’re most excited for this year.
The Lower Manhattan film festival, set to run April 19-30, includes films such as I AM EVIDENCE, which exposes the shocking reality of the rape kit backlog, bringing attention to the way in which police have historically processed sexual assault cases.
Ardelia Ali was raped in 1995. Twenty years later, her rapist was convicted thanks to the tireless efforts of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. and the Justice Department have joined forces to help states and localities eliminate backlogs of untested sexual assault evidence kits. Last week, they announced $80 million in grants to help pay for the processing of the tests and to develop policies aimed at preventing future backlogs and improving sexual assault investigations.
One way to catch more rapists would be to eliminate the inexcusable nationwide backlog in laboratory testing of rape kits. How many are untested? No one knows, which is part of the problem.
Earlier this month, the Joyful Heart Foundation, which works to uncover rape kit backlogs, announced dismaying figures. The foundation’s announcement noted that “few states and no federal agencies require that law enforcement track or count the untested rape kits in their storage facilities.”
Mariska Hargitay plays a sex crimes detective on Law and Order: SVU, but now the actress is taking her support for victims to another level by producing an upcoming documentary about rape kit backlog.
