Capstone Project: Topic and Problem Selection
University
FPSY6393: Capstone
14:00:44 GMT -05:00
, Capstone Project: Topic and Problem Selection
In my Capstone Research paper, my focus is freedom from violence for women and more
specifically the gender bias in our judicial system that further victimizes survivors of violence. I selected
this topic to bring light to law enforcement processes and how women victims of rape/sexual assault are
not a priority. I plan to bring in numbers from law enforcement departments around the country to
support that there is a discrepancy in the way rape kits are conducted and the issue arises of backlogs.
This social problem affects a larger group within society. Although victimization is not solely a
woman’s
issue, the main focus for the paper will be women, with some instances of how men have experienced this
as well.
Within the Walden library, I first researched rape kit disparities. I came across a source titled
“How rape kits failed women”. This will be the specific focus of my paper. Within this source, Quinlan
(2017) dissected the frustration and anger amongst women dealing with sexual assault and forensics.
After feedback from my classmates, narrowing down the focus to the rape kits and backlogs was a great
idea, but for clarity, the overall focus is how sexual assault evidence and cases take a back burner to cases
such as murder.
In the second source, I found evidence of disbelief and attitudes towards rape. This source
specifically focused on the Detroit Police Department in 2009 and revealed evidence that showed boxes
of rape kits that were still sealed and had not been sent out for testing (Hagerty, 2009). With this
evidence in hand, along with other possible departments duplicating this behavior, it shows that the
violence towards women continues even after the crime is committed.
University
FPSY6393: Capstone
14:00:44 GMT -05:00
, Capstone Project: Topic and Problem Selection
In my Capstone Research paper, my focus is freedom from violence for women and more
specifically the gender bias in our judicial system that further victimizes survivors of violence. I selected
this topic to bring light to law enforcement processes and how women victims of rape/sexual assault are
not a priority. I plan to bring in numbers from law enforcement departments around the country to
support that there is a discrepancy in the way rape kits are conducted and the issue arises of backlogs.
This social problem affects a larger group within society. Although victimization is not solely a
woman’s
issue, the main focus for the paper will be women, with some instances of how men have experienced this
as well.
Within the Walden library, I first researched rape kit disparities. I came across a source titled
“How rape kits failed women”. This will be the specific focus of my paper. Within this source, Quinlan
(2017) dissected the frustration and anger amongst women dealing with sexual assault and forensics.
After feedback from my classmates, narrowing down the focus to the rape kits and backlogs was a great
idea, but for clarity, the overall focus is how sexual assault evidence and cases take a back burner to cases
such as murder.
In the second source, I found evidence of disbelief and attitudes towards rape. This source
specifically focused on the Detroit Police Department in 2009 and revealed evidence that showed boxes
of rape kits that were still sealed and had not been sent out for testing (Hagerty, 2009). With this
evidence in hand, along with other possible departments duplicating this behavior, it shows that the
violence towards women continues even after the crime is committed.
