pickSexual assault is something not many people know how to talk about. It‘s been around a long time, and so has its stigma. The ‘rape kit‘ is no exception. Mary/‘Marty‘ Goddard invented it because she was tired of the (still persisting) problem of the police not taking SA seriously. It isn‘t surprising that her kit was named after a man, not her. Kits have evolved and become better. Men have not stopped raping us, however. Read on for more.
pickWell, I just read this in one sitting. 😂 There were some problematic character flaws (mainly any and all forgiveness of terrible people), but Grace is just so kick-ass that she smooths over most of them for me. I very much enjoyed the final altercation and was glad that Grace continued standing up for herself.
pickIt was interesting to learn about Marty Goddard and her advocating for rape victims. It was infuriating to learn about the attitudes toward rape at the time and the way police mistreated victims.
pickThis is exactly why the title says it is. Now what I was not expecting is that this is an account more so on how the author herself searched for Marty, the actual creator of the rape kit. The book was written from her point of view, so that took some getting used to. Otherwise, the education was well put, with reference at the end. The second half was nice to look through on how the future of the tape kit continues. That it‘s still relevant
#FebruaryReCap - I got a lot off my shelves!
#OffTheShelf2025 @Librariana
pickI had to take breaks while reading this one. The subject matter was intense and just hit too close to home. We recent (or maybe its confirmation bias) patients coming into the ED with the need for rape kits, and I just hated the language among “professionals“ regarding these women.
#NonFiction
#MeToo
#OffTheShelf2025 @Librariana
pickThis is a pacey look at the history of something I'd never thought about, just taken for granted (thinking of the language of police and medical dramas). Kennedy's book is based on an extended article, so it's a relatively quick read about a heavy subject.
I want to read more about the changes in approach and understanding of prosecuting attackers, the impact of dealing with the "rape kit backlog" and remote medicine.
Some politicians argued that survivors should be pushed into going to the hospital for their own good. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia:...""What we need is trauma-informed care, not just the DNA. We should be encouraging women to go to a clinic...."
The problem with this logic was that so many survivors found the "trauma-informed care"' to be harrowing, and in the aftermath of an attack they didn't want to wait for ten hours in an ER ...
Feeling quite demoralised (work redundancies). This is the kind of inspiring reading that provides a bit of perspective.
