North Carolina Takes Steps To End Practice of Charging Rape Victims for Rape Kits
Kudos to the state of North Carolina for taking immediate action to quit charging rape victims for their own rape kits once they found out that this was happening, but why on earth has it taken this long to come to light and one wonders whether this is a problem in other states.
“State leaders are vowing to find money to pay for hospital tests done on patients examined for sexual assault.
The News & Observer reported Wednesday that the vast majority of the 3,000 or so North Carolinians examined each year in emergency departments for rape are forced to pay a share of their bill.”
“Victim advocates say rape kits should be paid for by the state and treated like evidence collected at other crime scenes.
“Rape victims are being treated differently than any other victim of crime,” said Monika Johnson-Hostler, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “The county doesn’t charge me for fingerprinting if my house gets broken into.”
Hospitals bill the patient’s private insurer for the rape kit exam. What the insurer doesn’t cover, though, falls to the victim. For some, it’s a $50 emergency room co-pay; for others, the bill reaches several hundred dollars, triggered by deductible charges.”
Filed under: Uncategorized, Misogyny, Gender-Based Violence, Women's Health
Leave a Reply