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rape kits

Lavinia Masters at her home in Lewisville.

Thousands of Rape Kits in Texas Went Untested For Years. Lavinia Masters Is Ending That.

The Lavinia Masters Act, which goes into effect in September, is the culmination of more than ten years of Masters’ advocacy in Texas, where a backlog of about 20,000 untested rape kits was identified in 2011.

by Sophie Novack

Keep Reading

Texas House Advances Bill that Could Actually Clear the Rape Kit Backlog

by Kate Groetzinger

How 50 Years of Feminism in the Texas Legislature Shaped the Fights We See Today

by Kate Groetzinger

A Timely, Enraging Documentary Humanizes the Rape Kit Backlog Crisis

by Sophie Novack

A criminalist tests a sexual assault kit in the Houston Forensic Science Center lab. Oct 10, 2014

Observer Radio Episode 79: Tackling Texas’ Rape Kit Backlog

by Jonathan McNamara

Emily Burton-Blank, Justice Advocate for the Special Victims Division of the Adult Sex Crimes Unity. Oct 08, 2014

Meet the Justice Advocate for HPD Adult Sex Crimes Unit

by Jen Reel

Pearl in her apartment, which she has called home for 25 years. Oct 08, 2014

To Catch a Rapist: Houston Leads on Testing Old Rape Kits

For years, Texas cops left nearly 20,000 rape kits untested while perpetrators went free. Now some agencies are confronting that injustice.

by Jo DePrang

Inside this month's print issue

Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our May/June 2025 Issue

A note from the editor-in-chief

Keep Reading

The Magazine

Funniest and Craziest Quotes from the Texas Abortion Debate (So Far)

by Forrest Wilder

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