Who came up with the idea of a rape kit, and how was it first implemented? These are the questions that journalist Kennedy (coauthor, An Immense New Power To Heal) set out to investigate, and the answers took her on a journey she did not anticipate. In this book, she tells the story of Marty Goddard, a Chicago activist who in the 1970s helped develop the first kit used to collect evidence of sexual assault. Seeking to establish a new standard of evidence collection, Goddard allowed a police investigator to put his name on her invention. That resulted in Goddard being forgotten by history, despite her tireless efforts in distributing the kit and training medical staff and law enforcement on how to properly use it. VERDICT Kennedy’s efforts to find out what happened to Goddard after she faded from public life uncover not only personal details but also an in-depth history of the treatment of women survivors of sexual assault and other crimes. Readers with an interest in police procedure or true crime will find this book fascinating.
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