SU partners with Leda Health to create self-administered early evidence sexual assault kits

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Content warning: this article contains mentions of sexual assault.

Leda Health has partnered with Syracuse University’s Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute to create self-administered early evidence sexual assault kits, specifically for military service members in the field.

The kits provide access to those who may not be able to receive an exam at a hospital, such as service members stationed away from a hospital or military base, Leda Health Chief Operating Officer Sean Bogle said. The United States Department of Defense allocated the funding for the partnership, allowing Leda Health to seek work with the U.S. Air Force for the rollout of the Early Evidence Kits.

“We certainly want to make sure that (our troops) have the highest level of care,” Bogle said. “And at the same time, we want to make sure that (survivors) have an expanded right to self-agency and autonomy … so just providing them with a heightened level of options increases their ability to feel safe.”

Leda Health was launched in 2019 by co-founder and CEO Madison Campbell, a survivor of sexual assault herself, Bogle said. The company’s goal is to increase autonomy and a sense of self-agency for survivors. After an assault, the Early Evidence Kit gives survivors the ability to self-collect evidence.

In 2020, the U.S. military received 7,916 reports of sexual assault and 8,866 in 2021. In 2022, service members filed 8,942 reports of sexual assault.

“Having individuals deployed in active war zones, or areas where hospitals are not available, that when sexual assaults happen there’s very little, if any, support for evidence collection, eventual justice for the victims, and it becomes a very critical matter in preventing and pursuing justice in sexual assaults that occurred in those types of areas,” Michael Marciano, SU’s FNSSI research director, said.
However, survivors could potentially run into issues with the Early Evidence Kit’s admissibility in court, something the FNSSI is working on addressing.
“At Leda Health, what we don’t want to do is give a survivor false hope,” Bogle said. “We don’t pretend that the early evidence kit is intended to be a silver bullet to conviction.”

Leda Health reached out to partner with the FNSSI because of the institute’s credibility, FNSSI Executive Director Kathleen Corrado and Marciano’s experience and the group’s commitment to the field, Bogle said. This partnership provides Leda Health with a level of access and expertise to fine-tune the kit for survivors.

“What we’re focused on is gathering other investigators and people to work with us to look at the policies and protocols surrounding the kit to make sure that the kits can be used and would stand up in court and we are going to offer our suggestions on, you know, based on what our backgrounds are, the contents of the kit, how they should be used, et cetera,” Corrado said.

Corrado and Marciano both started as practicing forensic scientists and are members of many forensic committees. Their research focuses on the intersection of genetic identity, issues pertaining to national security and DNA-based forensic science.

“We look at issues that are now current, and five years out, and tried to develop solutions, collaborate with commercial entities, collaborate with other academic institutions or private institutions to try to develop solutions to help now…” Marciano said. “We’re using our positions here in the institute to help those (field) practitioners figure out ways to implement new solutions that can help the community at the micro level and macro level.”

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the length of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners exam — which hospitals provide for survivors of sexual assault directly after the assault occurred to collect materials — may take several hours. Bogle also said it can take anywhere from two to six hours. The SANE exam is a vulnerable experience, as survivors are alone with a stranger who needs to touch them in order to complete the exam, which can be traumatizing, Bogle said.

Bogle said the kits are not necessarily meant to be used in lieu of a SANE exam — he urges survivors to seek out medical care if possible in addition to the kits’ usage.

The Early Evidence Kit consists of a manual booklet, a small garment bag and three small boxes with q-tips swabs within the kit for the user to swab areas that came into contact with the assault perpetrator. A small container of sterile water is included for DNA collection with the swabs to avoid sample contamination, Bogle wrote in an email to The Daily Orange.

Tape will be provided to seal up the swab boxes, the garment bag and then a larger bag where survivors can put those items, Bogle said. There is a FedEx package with a prepaid label on it that can be dropped off at any FedEx location or drop box. Bogle said the kit will go directly to the Leda Health lab and results can be expected within eight weeks.

Survivors can also scan a QR code on the manual to connect with Leda Health’s 24/7 care team and can receive help going through the steps of the kit. Leda Health also has an app where survivors can speak to a trained team of personnel who can guide them through the steps. All of their services are also available through Leda Health’s website.

According to a video from Leda Health, the DNA collection process takes approximately 30 minutes.

“(Survivors) have 24/7 access so they can actually be talking with someone to talk them through the steps, which is helpful to make sure they’re collecting evidence properly, but also just for emotional support or health-related support that they might need,” Corrado said.

Bogle said Leda Health’s Early Evidence kits are meant to be an additional avenue for care, not in place of the care provided by the military. Leda Health hopes the military can endorse the use of kits, acknowledging that some survivors may not want or have access to an extensive SANE exam, Bogle said.

“We want to be able to close that gap (in access) so that survivors have another viable option that is endorsed by the military,” Bogle said.

The next step for Leda Health is identifying an entity within the Air Force to provide the Early Evidence Kits to, with the FNSSI following up to examine the legal feasibility of used kits. Currently, the FNSSI is vetting the process by looking into potential issues with evidence collection processes, chain of custody, documentation and other legal considerations.

Along with FNSSI, Leda Health is currently working with Small Business Innovation Research Advisors to identify an Air Force base or entity to use the kits.

“I think that military personnel will further appreciate and trust the military, the government itself, the organization itself, knowing that this option is available,” Bogle said.