Taking Victims Seriously

by Matt Kelley · 2009-09-29 05:06:00 UTC
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The Philadelphia Inquirer today praised the Philadelphia Police Department for improving the way it treats victims of sexual assault, marking a complete turnaround from ten years ago. It's rare the a media outlet will praise a police department when it does something right, so kudos to the Inquirer for sending kudos to the cops.

Ten years ago, the Inquirer hammered the police for allowing investigations of sexual assaults to slide, for treating victims callously and for generally not taking rapes seriously. It led to a harsh national spotlight and sweeping reforms, including another look at hundreds of cold cases. The reforms are ongoing, but today's story shows that a lot has changed:

Watching Philadelphia Police Capt. John Darby talk to reporters last month about the rape of a jogger near Forbidden Drive, Carol Tracy sat before the television, slack-jawed.

She couldn't believe how sensitive he seemed.

Police had no suspect. The victim had been unwilling to sit with detectives.

"He said he understood how traumatic this event was for the victim, and that he hoped she would be in a place where she would be able to speak to police in a short time," recalled Tracy, who directs the Women's Law Project. "He understood the trauma of the event was having a devastating impact on her."

Philadelphia wasn't alone in having problems a decade ago in the way it treated rape victims. Many cities have come a long way since the turn of the 21st century, but some are still on their way.

I've written before about Los Angeles' problem with untested rape kits. Shortages of qualified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) trouble many hospitals -- including this understaffed facility in Kansas that last week asked two victims to travel to another hospital to be examined.

There's plenty more to be done, but it's refreshing to see Philadelphia's vast improvement get the recognition it deserves.

Philly story via PoliceOne

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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