PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The failure of many police departments in North America to promptly process rape kits has been a constant theme of this Blog - both to enable quick apprehension of perpetrators and to diminish the possibility of false accusations. Sue Carter's review of Natasha Simone Alexenko’s memoir pays fitting tribute to "Natasha's Justice Project" -a non-profit dedicated to eliminating the backlog of thousands of unprocessed rape kits across the U.S. The thought of a rape kit sits unattended on a shelf for nine years defies belief. Yet lengthy delays because of cost, indifference, disorganization or whatever is utterly disturbing, and inexcusable - wherever they occur. The passage in which Carter says "Alexenko also opens up about the invasive four-hour rape-kit exam (to go through this and have it sit on a shelf for nine years), and how her body turned into a crime scene," is particularly riveting.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Canada is also on her radar these days. “I can’t tell you how many survivors from Canada who have reached out to me and said I haven’t heard anything about my kit,” she says. “It’s the exact same story. The exact same circumstances.”
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BOOK REVIEW: "Natasha Simone Alexenko’s memoir details her journey from sexual assault victim to advocate rape kits," reviewed by Sue Carter in the Toronto Star on June 29, 2018. (Sue Carter is Editor of Quill and Quire);
GIST: "In 2011, Natasha Simone Alexenko appeared on the HBO documentary Sex Crimes Unit in which she shares her story of being brutally raped and the 15 years it took to bring her assailant to justice. Before it aired, Alexenko and her mother watched the film, which includes a scene where Alexenko’s underwear and rape kit are held up to the camera. “My mom and I looked at each other and we were like, ‘Ehh, there it is. What are you going to do?’ Your underwear is out there for everyone to see and there’s nothing you can do about it,” says Alexenko, who was raised in St. Catherines and now lives in Long Island, N.Y. Alexenko and her mom joked about being relieved that she hadn’t been wearing a thong or granny panties that night. But amidst the much-needed levity, something else was happening inside Alexenko. The moment was over, and it felt like a purge. That sense of relief would help motivate Alexenko to leave her position as a museum director and to start Natasha’s Justice Project, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating the backlog of thousands of unprocessed rape kits across the U.S. It also helped Alexenko find courage to write openly about her life in a new memoir, A Survivor’s Journey: From Victim to Advocate, which she calls a love story to people like her mother, who believed and supported her. Initially Alexenko decided to write A Survivor’s Journey because of the many questions about her own recovery she’s asked at speaking engagements, especially on college campuses. “There is a stigma around sexual assault. We’re not able to have the dialogue. It’s one thing to tell the story about what happened, but what happens after,” she says. “How did I feel? How did my relationships with others change? How did my relationship with men change? Those kind of questions are the things people wanted to know, usually for themselves.” Alexenko feared that because she was speaking openly about her rape it might signal to other survivors that she had fully recovered. A book would allow her to share more details of how the assault continues to affect her life. She may have looked calm as she eloquently testified before Congress in 2015 alongside then-vice-president Joe Biden, but behind the scenes Alexenko was coming to terms with the fact that she was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. “I didn’t take a magic pill and here I am,” she says. “I wanted to make sure other survivors knew that I struggle and I am definitely nowhere near perfect and I have a long way to go.” When writing the first draft of the chapter that details her assault, Alexenko enlisted help because it was too tough to write on her own. In 1993, she was a 20-year-old NYC filmmaking college student living in an apartment building that had been approved by her protective mom for its location and secure entrance. Alexenko describes this time as magical, conjuring the kind of Narnia-like world she imagined as a book-reading kid. That fantasy was snuffed the instant a stranger raped her at gunpoint in an empty stairwell. Her recollection of the event is horrific: she prefaces the scene with a warning, explaining that she describes the night in such detail to diffuse the shame that she felt living in secrecy for so long. Alexenko also opens up about the invasive four-hour rape-kit exam, and how her body turned into a crime scene. As the results sat unattended on a shelf for nine years, she lived in a nightmare limbo, trying to mask the pain with various vices. Then she received a call from the New York City District Attorney’s Office informing her that the DNA in the kit would finally be tested. In 2007, the DNA was matched to her rapist, who was convicted the following year. Although justice was served, Alexenko still felt a lingering disconnect and sadness until she committed her life to Natasha’s Justice Project and working to ensure survivors are part of the national conversation and not just used as “tear-jerker props.” Canada is also on her radar these days. “I can’t tell you how many survivors from Canada who have reached out to me and said I haven’t heard anything about my kit,” she says. “It’s the exact same story. The exact same circumstances.” Despite the book’s subtitle, From Victim to Advocate, the two labels don’t land on opposite ends on the spectrum for Alexenko. Sometimes a story from another survivor will trigger memories, but she credits her advocacy work for helping her through. “I found my purpose,” she says. “Even though it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do and certainly not the most lucrative, I feel really fulfilled.”
The entire review can be read at:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2018/06/29/natasha-simone-alexenkos-memoir-details-her-journey-from-sexual-assault-victim-to-advocate.html
Read the Wikipedia link on Natasha's Justice Project at the link below: "Natasha's Justice Project (NJP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to end the nation's current rape kit backlog crisis and empower and assist survivors of sexual assault through travel grants to testify at their trials. NJP was founded by Natasha S. Alexenko, a victim and survivor of sexual assault, in hopes of exposing and eliminating the current rape kit backlog that exists in public municipalities throughout the United States. NJP empowers survivors of sexual assault by getting their rape kits off the shelves and tested so that their perpetrator(s) are brought to justice."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha%27s_Justice_Project
Purchase "A Survivor's Journey: From victim to advocate," at the link below: "On August 6, 1993, twenty-year-old Natasha Alexenko was assaulted at gunpoint. After nearly a decade, her backlogged rape kit was finally tested and her rapist, who roamed free for ten years, was brought to justice. On the day he was sentenced, Alexenko vowed that she would no longer be a statistic and would do whatever she could to help police on behalf of other rape victims. In 2011, she founded Natasha’s Justice Project (NJP), a nonprofit committed to ending the rape-kit backlog. This unflinching memoir chronicles her journey from trauma to triumph. Despite personal setbacks and bureaucratic obstacles, Alexenko refuses to give up on her determination to raise awareness of a problem even worse than she imagined, as tens of thousands of untested rape kits languish in crime storage facilities across the country. Written for fellow survivors, their families, law enforcement, and anyone impacted by rape, her deeply personal story is a testament to the power of one person to make a profound change."
https://www.amazon.com/Survivors-Journey-Victim-Advocate/dp/1503943410
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
