Justice for victims

Buried amid rape kit backlog: Justice for victims — For nearly two decades, Carol Bart's untested rape kit collected dust in a police evidence room. Her attacker, who kidnapped her from outside her Dallas apartment and repeatedly raped her at knifepoint, had spent time in prison by coincidence, but not for sexually assaulting Bart.

Bart, now a 52-year-old mother of four, fears that among the thousands of backlogged, untested kits pulled from a Detroit police evidence room are stories of women similarly violated only to be forgotten by a justice system that seemingly has placed its priorities and resources elsewhere.

"Women go to the hospital and their bodies are a crime scene and treated as such," said Bart, who still lives in Texas. "For these kits then to just to sit in a laboratory or in police vaults or wherever they sit, denies victims of sexual assault any opportunity for justice. I just wonder how many more there are?"

In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, Carol Bart poses for photos at a park in Richardson, Texas. In 1984, Bart was kidnapped and raped repeatedly in her car at knifepoint and she submitted to a rape kit at the time. It would be 24 years before the kit was tested, entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System and produced a hit on Joseph Houston Jr. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Bart and other rape victims spoke recently to The Associated Press in hope that other women about to go through the same painful process in Detroit learn from their experiences and know they are not alone. Detroit has begun testing some of its rape kits.

The women — who agreed to use their names for this story — know testing years-old rape kits holds no guarantee the attacker will be found and brought to justice. They also know the tangled legal process can reopen wounds that took years to heal and send horrific memories of the assault flooding back.

According to some estimates, between 180,000 and 400,000 rape kits remain untested nationwide, despite DNA technology that can swiftly link rapists to crimes.

Between 9,000 and 11,300 rape kits stored by Detroit police were collected two years ago by Michigan State Police.

The kits are being documented and tested in batches as part of a National Institute for Justice project. Initially, about 400 were chosen. Another batch of about 1,000 has been identified for testing so far this year.

The kits — 10-inch-long boxes containing swabs, evidence envelopes and information sheets detailing the examination, complications and a list of 24-hour rape crisis centers — can cost $1,200 to $1,500 to test.

Detroit's project is funded by grants. Houston, which had a 4,000-kit backlog, has embarked on a similar project. Grants and donations helped Los Angeles city police go through about 7,000 kits.

A team that includes police, prosecutors and Michigan State University researchers is methodically inspecting each kit to determine which still can be taken to court, what protocols can prevent future backlogs and what protections should be included for victims.

"Victims will be contacted at some point," said Rebecca Campbell, a psychology professor and member of the Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Action Research Project. "You have to make sure the way that's done is appropriate; take into account the victim's physical needs, support needs, resources and health needs.

"You're reopening an incredibly tragic event. You just can't knock on someone's door to do that."

Bart was attacked in 1984, and DNA swabbed during a hospital exam was stored in a rape kit. When the kit finally was tested 24 years later, DNA was added to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System and produced a hit on Joseph Houston Jr.

"Four months after he kidnapped and raped me, he attempted to do the same with another young lady and a security guard chased him off," Bart said.

Houston was sentenced in 1985 for kidnapping and served 19 of 50 years. His DNA was taken while in prison, even as Bart's rape kit sat forgotten. He eventually was released but now is serving a 20-year sentence in Texas for indecency with a child.

"He could not be prosecuted for his crime against me. The statute of limitations was only five years at the time of my assault," Bart said. "DNA evidence is tested quickly following a murder, but is not always when a woman has been raped by a stranger."

About 55 percent of victims never report being raped, according to Scott Berkowitz, president of the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.

"When they see stories like this, that's even more discouragement for them," he said.

Helena Lazaro also fell through the cracks. She was kidnapped at knifepoint at a self-car wash in 1996 near her Los Angeles County home. For six hours, the 17-year-old was repeatedly raped.

"I did my rape kit. It was just terrible," said Lazaro, now 32. "It was very impersonal. The doctor disregarded my wishes and examined parts of my body I asked him not to. The police questioned me at the same time.

"They asked, 'Why were you at the car wash at night? Are you sure you didn't know him? Are you sure you didn't want it?'"

Over time, Lazaro wanted to know the status of the case, but investigators stopped returning her calls.

With the help of the Peace Over Violence advocacy group, she learned in 2009 that her kit was not tested until 2003. Charles Courtney was in jail for another crime when the kit was tested. He is serving a 25-year sentence in Ohio for another rape. When that's completed, Courtney will serve time in California for raping her, Lazaro said.

Natasha Alexenko was 20 when she was raped and robbed at gunpoint in 1993 in her New York City apartment building. She submitted to a rape kit which "sat on a shelf collecting dust for nine and a half years," said Alexenko, the founder of Natasha's Justice Project, which advocates for rape victims.

In 2007, a sample from Victor Rondon matched the DNA from Alexenko's rape. He is serving 25 to 50 years.

"I felt re-victimized knowing nothing had happened to my kit," Alexenko said. ( Associated Press )

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Common Parasite May Increase Suicide Risk

Common Parasite May Increase Suicide Risk - Women infected with a common parasite called toxoplasma gondii may be more likely to attempt suicide, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the health records of more than 45,000 Danish women and concluded that over a 14-year period, women with toxoplasmosis, as infections with the parasite are called, were 53 percent more likely to attempt suicide than their uninfected counterparts. The likelihood of making a suicide attempt increased with the levels of parasite-fighting antibodies, suggesting that the stronger the infection, the larger the risk, the researchers said.

The link between the parasite and suicide attempts held when the researchers took into account other factors that may have affected the results, such as the women's mental health and socioeconomic class.

The study showed an association, but does not prove that toxoplasmosis infections might cause women to attempt suicide, the researchers said.

But if a causal relationship was found, researchers might be able to predict who is at an increased risk for attempting suicide, and find ways to intervene, study author Dr. Teodor Postolache, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Further research on the topic could lead to a new vaccination against the parasite, avenues for treating people with toxoplasmosis, or increased efforts to teach people how to reduce transmission, Postolache told MyHealthNewsDaily.

A common infection

Toxoplasma parasites affect a third of people worldwide, and healthy people may develop no symptoms. The parasite is spread through undercooked meat, unwashed vegetables or contact with fecal matter from cats, as the feline family is the only animal host that allows the parasite to reproduce.

The parasite attacks the brain and muscles, but a strong immune system keeps it in check. Infections are more concerning when they happen to people with weakened immune systems, such as pregnant women, people undergoing cancer treatments, and people with HIV.

In the new study, the researchers looked at the records of the Danish women, all of whom gave birth between 1992 and 1995. The infants’ blood was sampled for antibodies against toxoplasma, which indicates an infection in the mother, because babies can't develop their own antibodies until they are 3 months old.

The researchers found that not only was toxoplasmosis infection linked with an increased risk of attempting suicide, but also that womenwith toxoplasmosis were more 81 percent likely to attempt to commit suicide violently, with a gun, sharp object or by jumping. In total, 488 women in the study attempted suicide, 78 violently.

One possible explanation for the link to the increased violence could be an increased level of aggression that comes with infection, Postolache said. In order to attempt suicide, one must "be ready to die and have a capability to kill," he said.

Additionally, the researchers found that women with toxoplasmosis were 25 percent more likely to attempt suicide than women who had previously experienced mental health problems.

A parasite that affects the brain

The new findings are in line with past research suggesting links between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia and brain cancer, the researchers said.

While the idea of screening people for the parasite may have been "scoffed at 10 years ago," today, the parasite has been shown to be associated with such a wide array of health conditions, and screening is so inexpensive that this may become a viable option, said Kevin Lafferty, a parasite researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey who was not involved in the study.

Lafferty said the link between the parasite and suicide may stem from the parasite's effect on the brain. The infection may make the brain more vulnerable to mental illness and predispose people to suicide. (It's less likely that people with existing mental illnesses are more likely than others to contract the infection, he said.)

"The chemistry of the brain is the underlying common thread here," Lafferty said.

The research was published today (July 2) in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Pass it on: Women carrying the parasite toxoplasma may be more likely to attempt suicide. ( LiveScience.com )

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A 21-year-old Palestinian woman has told authorities she was locked in a bathroom for the past decade by her father, who let her out only in the dead

A 21-year-old Palestinian woman has told authorities she was locked in a bathroom for the past decade by her father, who let her out only in the dead - A 21-year-old Palestinian woman has told authorities she was locked in a bathroom for the past decade by her father, who let her out only in the dead of night so she could clean their house.

"People are monsters," Baraa Melhem said her father would tell her, according to a social worker dealing with the case.

Palestinian police said Monday they freed Melhem from the small bathroom of a home in the West Bank city of Qalqilya on Saturday after an anonymous tip.

Her father, who holds Israeli citizenship, was arrested and handed over to Israeli authorities. He is due to appear in an Israeli court Wednesday, an Israeli police spokesman said.

Melhem told Voice of Palestine radio that when she was 11, her father confined her to the toilet and did not allow her to go to school or see her mother, whom he had divorced.

She was beaten with a baton and metal wires and given only one blanket to keep her warm, said the social worker, Hala Shreim.

"The bathroom was only 1-1/2 meters big, it was like a cell," Shreim said.

According to a statement issued by Palestinian police, the father, citing a "family dispute," admitted to locking up his daughter and feeding her mainly bread.

Melhem told Voice of Palestine that her father used to shave her hair and her eyebrows, and allowed her to shower only once a month. He would let her out of the bathroom every night at 1 a.m. to clean the house until 4 a.m., she added.

Melhem's father, the social worker said, often encouraged his daughter to commit suicide.

"Her only consolation was a radio which kept her connected to the world," Shreim said.

The young woman has now been reunited with her mother.

"She told me that she loves life and has to live," Shreim quoted Melhem as saying. ( Reuters )

READ MORE - A 21-year-old Palestinian woman has told authorities she was locked in a bathroom for the past decade by her father, who let her out only in the dead