Dr Rachel Lovell: Rape Kits & Serial Rapists

Dr Rachel Lovell is a Research Assistant Professor at the Begun Centre of Violence Prevention Research and Education at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a Sociologist and methodologist who works with law-enforcement, community based agencies and public systems to examine the impact of violent behaviour that is primarily directed at women and girls. In this conversation, Rachel shared her research on rape kits and how they can be used to identify serial rapists. Research discussed: Lovell, R., Luminais, M., Flannery, D.J., Overman, L., Huang, D., Walker, T. and Clark, D.R., 2017. Offending patterns for serial sex offenders identified via the DNA testing of previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits. Journal of criminal justice, 52, pp.68-78.