It seems that the issue has come up in other states as well.... which doesn't make it right, but indicates that the problem is/was not isolated."Turns out experts on sexual assault are all too familiar with the issue. "It's been a problem for a long time," says Ilse Knecht, deputy director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime. "We've heard so many stories of victims paying for their exams, or not being able to and then creditors coming after them." In order to qualify for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act, states have to assume the full out-of-pocket costs for forensic medical exams, as the rape kits are called. But according to a 2004 bulletin published by the NCVC, "[F]eedback from the field indicates that sexual assault victims are still being billed." Knecht says she's recently heard from caseworkers in Illinois, Georgia, and Arkansas reporting that rape victims continue to be charged for their forensic exams.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-health-and-money/2008/02/21/rape-victims-can-be-hurt-financially-too.html?s_cid=rss:rape-victims-can-be-hurt-financially-too.htmlRape victims won't face exam billsWomen who had been attacked had been billed for part of the costs of forensic testsMandy Locke, Staff Writer Comment on this story RALEIGH - Victims of sexual violence in North Carolina will no longer be forced to pay for the forensic exams needed to help capture their attackers. The N.C. General Assembly approved more than $1 million this summer to revamp a program designed to help cover the cost of rape kit exams for uninsured victims. The exams are used to collect bodily evidence of an attacker and are standard in the prosecution of sex crimes.
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1177105.html
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