About the Project

Washington’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative is a statewide effort to address the accumulation of unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAK) in the possession of local law enforcement agencies and hospitals. In October 2017, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office was awarded a $3 million grant to implement this effort.

Under the leadership of Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the attorney general’s office took the initiative and stepped forward to coordinate and lead a multidisciplinary response involving law enforcement, prosecutors, hospitals, victim advocates and crime lab analysts. These professionals worked to inventory all of the unsubmitted sexual assault kits in the State of Washington and to identify and address issues with the handling of sexual assault kits in our State.

The Attorney General’s office, along with our partners in law enforcement, the crime lab, victim advocacy programs, and sexual assault nurse examiner programs, have worked diligently to address this issue. In addition, although we have accomplished much, there is still more work to complete. The Attorney General’s Office is passionately working to support sexual assault victims, to hold offenders accountable, and to ensure that untested sexual assault kits never accumulate without a plan again. We invite all who share in this belief to work with us to meet this challenge.

Map of Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Grantees Nationwide

Map courtesy of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Training and Technical Assistance Team. Current as of  FY2019 grant recipients.