Issue

Support for sexual assault survivors

Testing backlogged rape kits and funding rape crisis services.

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City Council

Council calls on state to increase its funding for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape.

Rape crisis centers across Pennsylvania have gone six years without a state funding increase. Now, City Council has called on the legislature to raise funding for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and centers statewide. PAAR served nearly 2,500 people in the past year, about 15% of them children, council's request said. About 20% of its funding comes from the state, the Tribune-Review reported.

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Support for sexual assault survivors

City Council

Untested Sexual Assault Kits to Be Processed.

Police have identified untested sexual assault kits tied to backlogged cases. Now, council has unanimously advanced a request for $37,000 from a 2023 grant, mostly for detective overtime on those cases. The request also sets aside $1,000 for a soft interview room for victims. Still, the number of untested kits wasn't mentioned.

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Support for sexual assault survivors