Afterwards, despite the overwhelming desire for a hot shower, Natasha instead insisted on a “rape kit,” a sexual assault forensic exam that preserves DNA and other evidence that can aid in the investigation and prosecution of a rapist. The evidence also can help ensure the victim receives appropriate medical care.

The results from Natasha’s rape kit helped lead to the arrest and conviction of her rapist. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it took nine and a half years for that to happen. That’s how long Natasha’s rape kit sat, waiting to be tested, on a warehouse shelf along with a backlog of 17,000 other untested New York City rape kits.

That backlog is what drove Natasha to speak out in the 90s—and she’s been telling her story and making a difference ever since.

“My rape kit was not just a number in a police department,” she explains. “My rape kit was me—a human being. Every rape kit that sits on the shelf is a human being. Every rape kit that sits on a shelf has the potential to solve a crime. The CODIS found my perpetrator through DNA profiling and I am living, breathing proof of the fact that we can find these criminals. I am not, and should not be, an anomaly.” Read Natasha’s story on the Story+Advocacy Blog.