BALTIMORE — At-home sexual assault and rape kits give victims the opportunity to avoid hospitals and ER's and collect their own evidence from their house.
A new law is acknowledging the availability of the kits here in Maryland and pushing towards guidelines for the kits.
"It recognizes that for a variety of reasons people may not want to go to a hospital to get a full forensic exam. Some might have to wait too long in a hospital, some might be turned away from a hospital," said Senator Shelly Hettleman, a Democrat from Baltimore County.
The at-home kits are less likely to be acceptable in a courtroom but can have other benefits for survivors.
"There are all kinds of red flags that are raised with something that might give people false hope on the one hand. On the other hand, it could be a tool where people who might not otherwise want to use our healthcare system can do their own thing," said Senator Hettleman.
Leda Health creates early evidence collection kits with the idea of expanding the access to survivors.
According to the company, 70% of victims never report their sexual assault or rape.
After the kit is used, it's sent into a lab for testing.
Leda says results can be expected within eight weeks.
Once the results are back, survivors can decide the next best steps for them.
"The early evidence kit is not intended to be in lieu of the rape kit or the same examination that a survivor can get at a hospital, it's essentially meant to expand that option," said Sean Bogle, COO of Leda Health.
The company plans to have their at-home kits ready for October 1.
Senate bill 789 also goes into effect October 1.
It creates strict guidelines for the preservation of evidence of sexual assault.
This includes decades old slides collected at GBMC that are often used in cold cases, like the one solved this week where 70-year-old James Shipe is accused of raping five women 45-years-ago.
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The bill will make sure those slides and any other evidence of sexual assault is stored properly.
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