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The hours of hospital exams that follow a rape result in a collection of evidence smaller than a shoe box.
In the state's most populous county, just one in five of those boxes makes its way to a crime lab for analysis, show recent data.
That is set to change as Salt Lake County tries to become more accountable to victims who report sexual assaults. Soon, survivors will be able to track their evidence and its progress through forensic and law enforcement agencies — much like the way online shoppers can use tracking numbers to monitor a package's location.
Thanks to new funds and tools coming to the state to assist with investigating sexual crimes, "things are going to change quite dramatically," said Julie Valentine, a BYU forensics researcher whose 2013 audit of Salt Lake County rape cases brought attention to a larger statewide backlog in processing rape kits.
Valentine announced two new grants Thursday at a University of Utah forum geared toward preventing sexual assault. A $2 million federal grant awarded earlier this month will help Valentine and the county build the tracking website, which will be housed at the U. The award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance also will help pay for criminal investigations that stem from the rape kits and for increased services at the Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake City.
And $1.3 million in New York City funds, awarded Sept. 10, will pay for testing yet-unsubmitted kits throughout the state.
After hearing statistics about Utah rape kits in recent years, said U. student Alba Zarate, she could understand why few victims report to police.
"What's the purpose? It's not going to get far," said the junior dance major. "They're not being taken seriously. Law enforcement isn't doing much about it.
But Valentine believes Utah is turning a corner, she told about three dozen students in a campus lecture hall.
Many who attended the forum were members of U. fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which is hosting a second year of such forums in an effort to curb campus rape.
Zarate, who came to represent her sorority house Kappa Kappa Gamma, joined others in seeking advice from Valentine and West Valley City police Detective Justin Boardman, whose department has recently strengthened efforts to process sex assault evidence.
At the forum, some said they could understand why student victims would avoid reporting, especially if they were doing drugs or drinking at the time of the assault.
"If that is a fear," said Jon Harper, a sophomore bioengineering major, "how could things change?"
Generally, Valentine responded, police will overlook the drugs and alcohol.
"They want to go after these perpetrators," she said.
Boardman agreed, adding that police know rapists will target people who are inebriated and will focus on the bigger crime.
Others sought advice on how to help friends who have survived rape.
"What is the best way to give support?" asked Ryan Wadge, a senior mechanical engineering major.
"Really it's just letting them know that you care about them and their healing," said Valentine. "You are not to blame. That's a message we need to get across."
The new grants, Valentine said, will add to statewide momentum of better and more frequent evidence testing.
Two years ago, Valentine audited 270 rape cases that took place in Salt Lake County between 2003 and 2011 and found that just 6 percent were prosecuted.
And around 2,700 unanalyzed rape kits had piled up at the state crime lab and at police departments around Utah.
But as of August, Provo and West Valley City police departments, for example, had sent hundreds of previously unprocessed rape kits to an FBI program.
And last year, the Legislature allocated $750,000 to hire a private company to chip away at the state backlog.
About 200 untested kits are going to the contracted lab each month, with 98 usable results making it into the FBI database.
The apparent shift in state priorities is "great news," Valentine said. "We feel like the sun is starting to rise on our state."
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