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In episode one of our Sexual Assault Awareness Month season, Just Science sat down with Jody West, the forensic science manager for the forensic biology section at the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory, and Dr. Patricia Melton, a senior research Forensic Social Scientist at RTI International. Discuss resources aimed to help Forensic Science Service Providers increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of sexual assault kit testing. Among Forensics Science Service providers, there's a variability in how they approach testing sexual assault kits.

In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science sat down with Doctor Katherine Scafide, Associate Professor and sexual assault response researcher at George Mason University, to discuss how her team is developing methods to improve the visibility of bruises on black and brown skin tones following a sexual assault involving victims of color. During a sexual assault medical forensic exam capturing injuries such as bruises can be crucial for helping bring a case to justice.

In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science sat down with Erin House, Special Assistant Attorney General in Michigan, Richard Johnson, Kalamazoo SAKI investigator, and Lindsey King, Kalamazoo Community Based Victim Advocate, to discuss their team based approach for investigating sexual assault cold cases. While DNA can be a helpful tool for convicting sexual assault offenders, many sexual assault cold cases do not include DNA evidence.

In episode three of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Orlando Salinas, Lieutenant Trampas Gooding, and Jennifer Pollock from the Texas Department of Public Safety to discuss how statutes regarding lawfully owed DNA and familial DNA searches are utilized in sexual assault investigations. When an unknown DNA profile is found in samples collected within a sexual assault kit, the unknown profile is searched within national DNA databases such as the combined DNA index system, also known as CODIS.

In episode four of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, to discuss how the challenges faced by Indigenous communities impact sexual assault investigations. In the United States, many Indigenous communities are geographically isolated, which contributes to a lack of resources such as police staffing and training, healthcare, or even access to the Internet.

In episode one of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, to discuss how large-scale data collection can provide a better understanding of sexual assault cases and improve sexual assault response practices, policy, and education. Throughout her career, Dr. Valentine identified a gap in data driven practices for responding to sexual assault cases. Using her experience providing care to survivors, Dr.

In episode two of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, the Associate Dean of the Brigham Young University College of Nursing, to discuss the factors that contribute to low prosecution rates for sexual assault cases. In our last episode, Dr. Valentine highlighted the importance of sexual assault kit submission and DNA evidence as the groundwork for prosecution in sexual assault cases.

Social media has become a potent tool for spreading extremist beliefs and promoting violent extremism. NIJ Social Science analyst Aisha Javed Qureshi joins writer-editor Paul Haskins for a conversation about how scientific research is helping law enforcement and other agencies understand and address this growing concern.

In the final episode of our 2022 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Natasha Alexenko, a sexual assault survivor, advocate, author, and founder of Natasha's Justice Project, to discuss advocacy for vulnerable populations and trauma-informed approaches to sexual assault. As a sexual assault survivor and advocate, Natasha Alexenko has dedicated her career to improving the lives of sexual assault survivors. She has worked both nationally and internationally to discuss past, present, and future directions for an improved response to sexual assault.

In episode four of our 2022 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Rachael Goodman-Williams, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Wichita State University, and Dr. Jessica Volz, Clinical Director of Forensics at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, to discuss why survivors sometimes choose not to report their sexual assault. After receiving medical care and undergoing forensic evidence collection following a sexual assault, some survivors choose to forgo filing a report with law enforcement. Dr. Rachael Goodman-Williams and Dr.

In episode three of our 2022 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Kelly Taylor, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, also known as a SANE, Sexual Assault Care Coordinator, and Forensic Healthcare Program Manager, to discuss trauma-informed support for sexual assault survivors and the prevalence of strangulation in sexual assault cases. Trauma-informed victim centered expertise and support from sexual assault nurse examiners is crucial to providing appropriate medical attention and helping a survivor heal.

In episode two of our 2022 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, a researcher, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, and Associate Dean of Brigham Young University's College of Nursing, to discuss sexual assault cases involving strangulation and dating apps. While working as a sexual assault nurse examiner, Dr. Valentine and colleagues noticed an increase in survivors reporting violent sexual assaults that occurred after meeting someone through a dating app.

In episode one of our 2022 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Mary Weston, the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Supervisor of the Cold Case Unit, and Project Manager of the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force at Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office to discuss sexual assault response with vulnerable populations. Different challenges may arise when prosecuting sexual assault cases involving vulnerable populations, including cases with male victims.

In the final episode of our Perspectives on At-Home Sexual Assault Kits season, Just Science sat down with Natasha Alexenko, Lieutenant Jordan Satinsky, and Marya Simmons to discuss at-home sexual assault kits through a victim-centered lens. Throughout this season, Just Science has spoken with various subject matter experts to discuss several perspectives posed by the use of at-home sexual assault evidence collection kits.