Resolution Recognizes Rape Treatment Center, Founder

On November 16, the House passed, 415-0, a resolution (H. Res. 716) recognizing the efforts of Gail Abarbanel to end sexual violence against women.

Sponsored by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), the resolution contains several findings, including:

• Gail Abarbanel, the founder and director of the Rape Treatment Center at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, created the Fast Track Forensics Program, an innovative program that speeds up the processing of DNA evidence to assist local law enforcement agencies;
• Delays in processing rape kits hamper investigations, jeopardize public safety, and result in lost justice for the victims who report their rape to the police and consent to the four- to six-hour rape kit collection process;
• The Rape Treatment Center is nationally recognized for its exemplary treatment, education, and prevention programs; and
• The work of Gail Abarbanel and the Rape Treatment Center helps sexual assault victims become whole again by addressing the social, emotional, and physical pain resulting from the violence of sexual assault.

While commending the work of Ms. Abarbanel and the Rape Treatment Center – one of the first hospitals in the country to establish a protocol for treating sexual assault victims – the resolution also “calls upon local law enforcement agencies and state legislatures to work towards eliminating the delays in processing rape kits by utilizing innovative programs, such as the Fast Track Forensics Program, and urges the Congress to support programs that facilitate the timely processing of DNA evidence to assist local law enforcement agencies.”