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Fifty-One Percent
51%

Pagan Kennedy on "The Secret History of the Rape Kit"

By Jesse King
Published January 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM EST
Adrienne Mathiowetz (headshot)
Book cover and Pagan Kennedy headshot

On this week's 51%, we speak with journalist and author Pagan Kennedy about her new book The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story, tracking the life and work of Martha “Marty” Goddard, who invented the country’s first extensive rape kit system in the 1970s. The kit and process designed by Goddard and Louis Vitullo, a Chicago police sergeant, has allowed countless survivors of sexual assault to present evidence against their abusers in court, but it took a lot to get it going — and it has yet to reach its full potential. Kennedy gives us a glimpse at the woman behind the rape kit, and how we can make reporting easier for survivors today.

 
Guest: Pagan Kennedy, author of The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story

This episode discusses sexual assault and may be triggering for some listeners. If you or someone you love has been impacted by sexual abuse, the RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is open 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673 and on its website.

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

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Tags
51% rape test kitssexual assault
Jesse King
Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%," and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."
See stories by Jesse King
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