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The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story
In 1972, Martha "Marty" Goddard volunteered at a crisis hotline, counseling girls who had been molested by their fathers, their teachers, their uncles. Soon, Marty was on a mission to answer a question: Why were so many sexual predators getting away with these crimes? By the end of the decade, she had launched a campaign pushing hospitals and police departments to collect evidence of sexual assault and treat survivors with dignity. She designed a new kind of forensics tool—the rape kit—and new practices around evidence collection that spread across the country. Yet even as Marty fought for women's rights, she allowed a man to take credit for her work.
When journalist Pagan Kennedy went looking for this forgotten pioneer, she discovered that even Marty Goddard's closest friends had lost track of her. As Pagan followed a trail of clues to solve the mystery of Marty, she also delved into the problematic history of forensics in America. The Secret History of the Rape Kit chronicles one journalist's mission to understand a crucial innovation in forensics and the woman who championed it. As Pagan Kennedy hunts for answers, she reflects on her own experiences with sexual assault and her own desire for justice.
When journalist Pagan Kennedy went looking for this forgotten pioneer, she discovered that even Marty Goddard's closest friends had lost track of her. As Pagan followed a trail of clues to solve the mystery of Marty, she also delved into the problematic history of forensics in America. The Secret History of the Rape Kit chronicles one journalist's mission to understand a crucial innovation in forensics and the woman who championed it. As Pagan Kennedy hunts for answers, she reflects on her own experiences with sexual assault and her own desire for justice.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 14, 2025
277 people are currently reading
5,138 people want to read
About the author
Pagan Kennedy
23books70followersPagan Kennedy is a regular contributor to the New York Times and author of eleven books. A biography titled Black Livingstone made the NewYork Times Notable list and earned Massachusetts Book Award honors. She also has been the recipient of a Barnes and Noble Discover Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and a Smithsonian Fellowship for science writing. Visit her online at .
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June 12, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
There are respectful ways of discussing rape and sexual assault, and of telling the stories of the victims and survivors of these kinds of events. This book fails greatly to meet my expectations in either arena.
Kennedy claims to write this book as a "history" of the rape kit, and of the woman who invented it, Marty Goddard. But she spends much of the book describing her own experiences of sexual assault in a way that makes this feel very much like trauma porn and adds absolutely nothing to the story she claims to be telling. One minute, you will be reading about the struggles and successes Goddard faced as a woman trying to make a difference in how rape victims are treated and the evidence of the crimes against them are handled; the next, you will be thrust into a random and incredibly graphic story about Kennedy talking on the phone with a pedophile who had claimed to be her doctor when she was a child, or being held down and tortured in a basement by the sons of her mother's friends as a young teenager.
She also praises a number of TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist, or people who base their intolerance of transgender people on a hatred of men and a belief in "traditional" womanhood and the "divine" feminine, which is, at its roots, deeply misogynistic) organizations, and perpetuates the myths that men can't be raped and rape is an act of violence only used against women.
Even in the sections which do focus on Goddard's story, much of Kennedy's claims are largely based on speculation and heavily steeped in her own biases rather than actual evidence, which is unfortunately scant, as she admits. I will say that I'm grateful that she is at least somewhat aware of this, as she discusses multiple times her fantasies about herself and "Marty" (Kennedy unprofessionally insists on calling Goddard by her first name, stating that she believes them to be friends despite never having met, and Goddard being dead well before Kennedy even heard of her) bringing each other to justice, and Marty being a surrogate mother to her who would be better to her than her own mother, who Kennedy admits to shrugging off and putting away in a nursing home the moment she became inconvenient, while also, ironically, being horrified at the idea that someone might have put Marty in a nursing home.
While there is some excellent information present in this book about the history of forensics and sexual assault investigation, and of sexual assault care following the advent of the rape kit, it is, unfortunately, not enough to redeem this book in my eyes, or for me to ever recommend it to anyone. This is not a history of the rape kit, nor is it a biography of Marty Goddard; it is a story by a woman who, instead of going to therapy, obsessively catalogues her trauma and then releases it to the world under the guise of social justice.
There are respectful ways of discussing rape and sexual assault, and of telling the stories of the victims and survivors of these kinds of events. This book fails greatly to meet my expectations in either arena.
Kennedy claims to write this book as a "history" of the rape kit, and of the woman who invented it, Marty Goddard. But she spends much of the book describing her own experiences of sexual assault in a way that makes this feel very much like trauma porn and adds absolutely nothing to the story she claims to be telling. One minute, you will be reading about the struggles and successes Goddard faced as a woman trying to make a difference in how rape victims are treated and the evidence of the crimes against them are handled; the next, you will be thrust into a random and incredibly graphic story about Kennedy talking on the phone with a pedophile who had claimed to be her doctor when she was a child, or being held down and tortured in a basement by the sons of her mother's friends as a young teenager.
She also praises a number of TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist, or people who base their intolerance of transgender people on a hatred of men and a belief in "traditional" womanhood and the "divine" feminine, which is, at its roots, deeply misogynistic) organizations, and perpetuates the myths that men can't be raped and rape is an act of violence only used against women.
Even in the sections which do focus on Goddard's story, much of Kennedy's claims are largely based on speculation and heavily steeped in her own biases rather than actual evidence, which is unfortunately scant, as she admits. I will say that I'm grateful that she is at least somewhat aware of this, as she discusses multiple times her fantasies about herself and "Marty" (Kennedy unprofessionally insists on calling Goddard by her first name, stating that she believes them to be friends despite never having met, and Goddard being dead well before Kennedy even heard of her) bringing each other to justice, and Marty being a surrogate mother to her who would be better to her than her own mother, who Kennedy admits to shrugging off and putting away in a nursing home the moment she became inconvenient, while also, ironically, being horrified at the idea that someone might have put Marty in a nursing home.
While there is some excellent information present in this book about the history of forensics and sexual assault investigation, and of sexual assault care following the advent of the rape kit, it is, unfortunately, not enough to redeem this book in my eyes, or for me to ever recommend it to anyone. This is not a history of the rape kit, nor is it a biography of Marty Goddard; it is a story by a woman who, instead of going to therapy, obsessively catalogues her trauma and then releases it to the world under the guise of social justice.
January 7, 2025
This book is a deep dive into the history of laws pertaining to rape and how the rape kit was developed. It was shocking to learn how little the American justice system did for sexual assault victims prior to the kit. But what’s more disturbing was to learn how only in recent years laws have been passed to protect, give dignity to, and find justice for these women.
The hero of this story is Marty Goddard and her tireless efforts to advocate for assault victims. Even though Marty worked tirelessly to make the rape kit what it is today, she's not known for her creation. The author did an incredible job giving her a voice as well as making her massive achievement known.
I listened to the audiobook which was read by Claire Danes. If you decide to pick this one up, I highly recommend this format.
The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy will be available on January 14. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted copy!
The hero of this story is Marty Goddard and her tireless efforts to advocate for assault victims. Even though Marty worked tirelessly to make the rape kit what it is today, she's not known for her creation. The author did an incredible job giving her a voice as well as making her massive achievement known.
I listened to the audiobook which was read by Claire Danes. If you decide to pick this one up, I highly recommend this format.
The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy will be available on January 14. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted copy!
December 28, 2024
This book was a bit all over the place. The stuff on Marty Goddard and the rape kit was good and really engaging but the narrative structure was wonky and a bit confusing. What I really didn't care for in the book were the pieces of memoir that Kennedy added in about her own sexual abuse. It felt like a totally different book. The clarity of vision was not there. I also think because this book came from a successful piece in the NYT Kennedy just added to the book whatever fit instead of really fleshing out a strong book that added (personal or not) elements that were missing from the article. My sense, this could've just stayed an article.
February 5, 2025
This book was hard to read emotionally because of the fact that it was centered around rape, including child sexual abuse. But it was also hard to read because the woman at the heart of this book, Marty Goddard, suffered an incredible amount of PTSD. Yet without her own rape, we might not have the rape kit today. Sure, someone else may have created one, but the reason we had one as early as we did (1972) was because of her. Ultimately, after fighting tirelessly to educate police and prosecutors on facing their own misogyny, to get rape kits mainstreamed, and to teach healthcare professionals how to collect evidence while treating victims with care, she vanished. This book is about rape, the rape kit, racism and rape, and the mystery of what happened to Goddard.
I'm so deeply grateful to Goddard for her relentlessness in helping advance the capture of thousands of rapists and to Kennedy for doggedness in finding out what happened to Goddard while also exposing the problematic legalities of prosecuting rape (mainly because it is steeped in systemic misogyny, which is why the victims, who already blame themselves, are publicly humiliated, strongly discouraged from filing, and shamed as having caused their own assaults). This behavior from police, doctors, prosecutors, and society at large has been the same since the first woman was raped. But with the invention of the rape kit, women have a chance at standing up for ourselves.
Here follows what you might consider a spoiler, but really, it's all stuff you can Google, so stop here if you are sensitive about not wanting to know ANYTHING at all about the book beyond the summary above:
I thought Kennedy deftly handled the extra hurdles Black women have to face stemming from racist stereotypes. I appreciated how she reminded us of the many Black men who were lynched for having been accused of raping white women (which were often false accusations and a tool of the white patriarchy to keep women under their thumbs by insisting on their protection and limiting their mobility). She also points out how unfairly race is still being used against Black women by suggesting they wanted to be raped (a hypersexualized stereotype that was the common moral excuse for slaveowners raping women when the economic excuse wasn't convenient enough, rather than them having to admit they wanted to rape the women). She goes on to outline all the ways Black women are subjected to extra scrutiny and police indifference/vitriol. I think this is incredibly important for all readers to know. So I'm glad she put it in the book.
However, along the lines of social injustices, I wish she had also put a chapter (or even a paragraph) in there about rape and transwomen. Transpeople make up less than 2% of the US population, yet there is a higher proportion of violence of all kinds directed at transwomen, which often includes rape. Also, in light of the recent Presidential executive order rolling back protection for incarcerated transwomen and their forcible confinement to men's prisons (which would increase the rate of sexual violence against them, which was why W Bush signed Prison Rape Elimination Act in the first place), it would've been useful to understand the dynamic between rape and transwomen better.
On the topic of rape and Presidents, Obama had launched the Sexual Kit Initiative for the sole purpose of reducing the backlog of unopened rape kits in police stations across the country. There were over 400,000 waiting to be analyzed in his time. We are supposedly down to 12.5% of that now. Unfortunately, I fear the President who thinks it's ok to grab any woman by the pu$$y will do whatever he can to make that number go back up and even surpass the original 400,000.
I also liked the suggested evolution of how we can alleviate some of the pressure on the system by doing our own rape kits, but that would mean we either need to have them on hand or have them sold in places like drug stores, and I don't necessarily see either happening anytime soon (though hey, we have condoms and pregnancy tests sold over the counter now, and they used to be behind glass or behind the pharmacist's counter, so who knows!).
Rape is a horribly violent crime that often leaves the survivors in shambles. The more we talk about it, the more we can make people realize that it's the victims who need to be protected and not the rapists. Let's keep talking about it.
I can't recall who on ŷ suggested this book to me. Thank you so much!
I'm so deeply grateful to Goddard for her relentlessness in helping advance the capture of thousands of rapists and to Kennedy for doggedness in finding out what happened to Goddard while also exposing the problematic legalities of prosecuting rape (mainly because it is steeped in systemic misogyny, which is why the victims, who already blame themselves, are publicly humiliated, strongly discouraged from filing, and shamed as having caused their own assaults). This behavior from police, doctors, prosecutors, and society at large has been the same since the first woman was raped. But with the invention of the rape kit, women have a chance at standing up for ourselves.
Here follows what you might consider a spoiler, but really, it's all stuff you can Google, so stop here if you are sensitive about not wanting to know ANYTHING at all about the book beyond the summary above:
I thought Kennedy deftly handled the extra hurdles Black women have to face stemming from racist stereotypes. I appreciated how she reminded us of the many Black men who were lynched for having been accused of raping white women (which were often false accusations and a tool of the white patriarchy to keep women under their thumbs by insisting on their protection and limiting their mobility). She also points out how unfairly race is still being used against Black women by suggesting they wanted to be raped (a hypersexualized stereotype that was the common moral excuse for slaveowners raping women when the economic excuse wasn't convenient enough, rather than them having to admit they wanted to rape the women). She goes on to outline all the ways Black women are subjected to extra scrutiny and police indifference/vitriol. I think this is incredibly important for all readers to know. So I'm glad she put it in the book.
However, along the lines of social injustices, I wish she had also put a chapter (or even a paragraph) in there about rape and transwomen. Transpeople make up less than 2% of the US population, yet there is a higher proportion of violence of all kinds directed at transwomen, which often includes rape. Also, in light of the recent Presidential executive order rolling back protection for incarcerated transwomen and their forcible confinement to men's prisons (which would increase the rate of sexual violence against them, which was why W Bush signed Prison Rape Elimination Act in the first place), it would've been useful to understand the dynamic between rape and transwomen better.
On the topic of rape and Presidents, Obama had launched the Sexual Kit Initiative for the sole purpose of reducing the backlog of unopened rape kits in police stations across the country. There were over 400,000 waiting to be analyzed in his time. We are supposedly down to 12.5% of that now. Unfortunately, I fear the President who thinks it's ok to grab any woman by the pu$$y will do whatever he can to make that number go back up and even surpass the original 400,000.
I also liked the suggested evolution of how we can alleviate some of the pressure on the system by doing our own rape kits, but that would mean we either need to have them on hand or have them sold in places like drug stores, and I don't necessarily see either happening anytime soon (though hey, we have condoms and pregnancy tests sold over the counter now, and they used to be behind glass or behind the pharmacist's counter, so who knows!).
Rape is a horribly violent crime that often leaves the survivors in shambles. The more we talk about it, the more we can make people realize that it's the victims who need to be protected and not the rapists. Let's keep talking about it.
I can't recall who on ŷ suggested this book to me. Thank you so much!
February 7, 2025
I always love learning about trailblazing women and Martha Goddard was certainly that. Her story has both triumph and tragedy, and her impact on the criminal justice system is still seen today.
There is a lot of the author’s personal story intertwined throughout which I found an interesting decision given that she did not know Goddard and was not from the same generation. I commend her for being so open but did feel it took away from the flow and focus of the book.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
There is a lot of the author’s personal story intertwined throughout which I found an interesting decision given that she did not know Goddard and was not from the same generation. I commend her for being so open but did feel it took away from the flow and focus of the book.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
June 12, 2024
2 stars for the history, negative 3 for the author's commentary and illogical analysis.
Let me preface this review by saying that I have a master's in Biological Anthropology (aka. the forensic identification of human crematory and skeleton remains among various isotopic and genotype tests). I took extensive notes about the content of this book and found the author to be grossly flawed in her logic and to be a deeply biased researcher to the point of misleading people about the premise of this book.
This is a book about the accomplishments of Marty Goddard, an unsung hero, if you will, who advocated for the rights of victims of all categories of sexual crimes. Ms. Goddard appears to have been an intrepid advocate for victims: male/female, young/old, incest, and all forms of sexual insult assault regardless of marriage status in spite of social prejudices and an overall lack of acknowledgement.
This lack of acknowledgement angers the author. Ironically, Ms. Goddard is characterized by said author as the type of woman who would deeply dislike the attention such acknowledgement would have granted her and appears to have actively avoided attention and social settings.
By virtue, the topic is fascinating and the history interesting. The author is the worst part about the book. The commentary does not enhance the history; it can be convoluted and muddles certain points. I have also found that the author is so clearly biased and controlled by her own confirmation bias that I am instinctively skeptical about quoted statements within the text. The author reads as a feminist extremist with a strong distrust of men and a romanticized view of Marty Goddard. The entire genesis of this book is her own anti-male bias and disbelief that a man could possibly have conceived the idea of a rape kit. Too bad her own research proves that the oldest recorded rape kit in the United States was created by a...man. Oops, the entire marketed premise is factually incorrect and admittedly said so by the author herself within her own book (Santa Ana kit).
Let me preface this review by saying that I have a master's in Biological Anthropology (aka. the forensic identification of human crematory and skeleton remains among various isotopic and genotype tests). I took extensive notes about the content of this book and found the author to be grossly flawed in her logic and to be a deeply biased researcher to the point of misleading people about the premise of this book.
This is a book about the accomplishments of Marty Goddard, an unsung hero, if you will, who advocated for the rights of victims of all categories of sexual crimes. Ms. Goddard appears to have been an intrepid advocate for victims: male/female, young/old, incest, and all forms of sexual insult assault regardless of marriage status in spite of social prejudices and an overall lack of acknowledgement.
This lack of acknowledgement angers the author. Ironically, Ms. Goddard is characterized by said author as the type of woman who would deeply dislike the attention such acknowledgement would have granted her and appears to have actively avoided attention and social settings.
By virtue, the topic is fascinating and the history interesting. The author is the worst part about the book. The commentary does not enhance the history; it can be convoluted and muddles certain points. I have also found that the author is so clearly biased and controlled by her own confirmation bias that I am instinctively skeptical about quoted statements within the text. The author reads as a feminist extremist with a strong distrust of men and a romanticized view of Marty Goddard. The entire genesis of this book is her own anti-male bias and disbelief that a man could possibly have conceived the idea of a rape kit. Too bad her own research proves that the oldest recorded rape kit in the United States was created by a...man. Oops, the entire marketed premise is factually incorrect and admittedly said so by the author herself within her own book (Santa Ana kit).
March 30, 2025
5 stars - read this one in one sitting - up until 2 am cause I would not put this book down!
Five hours and 240 pages - without a break. Once I opened the cover of this book I never put it down. This should be a must read for every policeman, every doctor and nurse, every social worker and therapist - anyone even remotely related to cases of molestation and rape.
To this day women are still blamed for rape - the clothes they wore, the number of drinks they had, if they flirted, letting themselves be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the darker the color of her skin, the more she is blamed. Black on black rape - the consensus 'isn't that what they do?' White on white rape - 'is she a prostitute? was she on drugs?' - from the elite white man's world.
Journalist Margo "Marty" Goddard wanted answers and solutions. By the 1980's she had developed a forensic tool - the rape kit - and was trying to teach police departments and hospitals how to use it. Marty let a man take credit for the development of the kit, knowing that he could get it patented and it would be more accepted than if a woman's name was attached to the product. It still had a rocky start. And by 2009 it was found that collected rape kits were laying in moldy piles all over the US, as evidence never tested. That year Detroit alone had over 11,000 such kits, some collected as far back as 1980 for victims ranging in age from ninety to a one month old. Time again for Goddard to dig in. That backlog of 400,000 kits has whittled down now to an estimate of about 50,000 - however the exact number is still not known.
Marty Goddard declined into alcoholism in the 1990's and as she had wished for, she became an unknown. Her final interview was in 2015 and she had descended into paranoia and mental illness by then. Her only contact was a nephew - her sisters son. Just as her forensic invention, the rape kit, started to gain acceptance in strategic places - police departments, court rooms and hospitals - Marty was in decline, both physically and mentally. She had already disappeared from public view, dissolved in obscurity. Her final instructions were no memorial, no funeral, no obituary. Her ashes were spread in Sedona, Arizona. And with that, her wishes were met, she vanished completely.
A highly educated woman, never looking for fame, just wanted to make the lives of women more important and on equal footing. We strongly thank her for her contributions and pray that another like minded person will pick up her torch and continue the fight.
Five hours and 240 pages - without a break. Once I opened the cover of this book I never put it down. This should be a must read for every policeman, every doctor and nurse, every social worker and therapist - anyone even remotely related to cases of molestation and rape.
To this day women are still blamed for rape - the clothes they wore, the number of drinks they had, if they flirted, letting themselves be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the darker the color of her skin, the more she is blamed. Black on black rape - the consensus 'isn't that what they do?' White on white rape - 'is she a prostitute? was she on drugs?' - from the elite white man's world.
Journalist Margo "Marty" Goddard wanted answers and solutions. By the 1980's she had developed a forensic tool - the rape kit - and was trying to teach police departments and hospitals how to use it. Marty let a man take credit for the development of the kit, knowing that he could get it patented and it would be more accepted than if a woman's name was attached to the product. It still had a rocky start. And by 2009 it was found that collected rape kits were laying in moldy piles all over the US, as evidence never tested. That year Detroit alone had over 11,000 such kits, some collected as far back as 1980 for victims ranging in age from ninety to a one month old. Time again for Goddard to dig in. That backlog of 400,000 kits has whittled down now to an estimate of about 50,000 - however the exact number is still not known.
Marty Goddard declined into alcoholism in the 1990's and as she had wished for, she became an unknown. Her final interview was in 2015 and she had descended into paranoia and mental illness by then. Her only contact was a nephew - her sisters son. Just as her forensic invention, the rape kit, started to gain acceptance in strategic places - police departments, court rooms and hospitals - Marty was in decline, both physically and mentally. She had already disappeared from public view, dissolved in obscurity. Her final instructions were no memorial, no funeral, no obituary. Her ashes were spread in Sedona, Arizona. And with that, her wishes were met, she vanished completely.
A highly educated woman, never looking for fame, just wanted to make the lives of women more important and on equal footing. We strongly thank her for her contributions and pray that another like minded person will pick up her torch and continue the fight.
January 30, 2025
I actually received an Kindle ARC of this, but I prefer listening to nonfiction rather than reading it so I held out for release day and made sure I was first in line at the library for an audio version. I don’t have many notes � if this history interests you, then this book delivers by being well researched with regard to these “kits� and rape forensics in general.
Really, the only thing worth mentioning is a negative in that I felt the author’s personal history should have been left aside. I knew nothing of her before reading this, but she makes sure it is known she has written about / has published the details of her life prior to this so it was even more unnecessary to be included here. I equivocate those asides to being on a forum (such as this), where contributors take everything to a personal level with complete strangers who were not aware they were signing up for a trauma dump on a simple post/book review. It was jarring and out of place.
Still Four Stars for not only holding my interest, but getting me out of the garage “gym� and walking outdoors despite it being 20 degrees outside. Oh and once again, I had zero awareness that a famous person was narrating this to me. I am oblivious! (But she did a good job LOL.)
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
Really, the only thing worth mentioning is a negative in that I felt the author’s personal history should have been left aside. I knew nothing of her before reading this, but she makes sure it is known she has written about / has published the details of her life prior to this so it was even more unnecessary to be included here. I equivocate those asides to being on a forum (such as this), where contributors take everything to a personal level with complete strangers who were not aware they were signing up for a trauma dump on a simple post/book review. It was jarring and out of place.
Still Four Stars for not only holding my interest, but getting me out of the garage “gym� and walking outdoors despite it being 20 degrees outside. Oh and once again, I had zero awareness that a famous person was narrating this to me. I am oblivious! (But she did a good job LOL.)
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
March 23, 2025
Sometimes an otherwise meritable nonfiction book unfortunately falls short due to a challenging topic or concept. Sadly, I think this was the case here. I have been working for many years in an advocacy and mental health capacity with survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, so when I heard this book was forthcoming, I was obviously quite enthusiastic about a history of the forensic examination kits that can be used to help prosecute sexual assault cases. However, due to fairly limited information available about Martha Goddard, a key contributor to this development, the book fell a bit into the “this could have remained a longform article� category. Additionally, Martha Goddard (who is deceased) was a very private, pretty complex, by all accounts passionate and somewhat eccentric person who had a difficult life that came to a difficult end, making her a challenging subject to write about, especially posthumously. I felt conflicted reading about her while feeling pretty concerned that she would not approve of the portrayal, or even of being portrayed at all. And since information about Goddard is scarce and perhaps in a sense unauthorized, the book is padded with some autobiographical and other content that isn’t necessarily uninteresting or irrelevant, but it also isn’t necessarily what readers may have been expecting and it doesn’t necessarily hang together seamlessly.
I also want to say that it really bothered me that the term “rape kit� was used throughout. I understand using it in the title and when discussing the time during which they were initially developed and the term was actually used. However, in a decade of my related work in a major U.S. city, I have never heard the term used once, by anyone involved, not even law enforcement: it’s simply not how we refer to sexual or domestic assault forensic exams anymore. It’s dated, slangy, not respectful, and minimizing. These exams are used in many types of sexual and intimate partner violence cases other than for rape. (This is especially important because sexual assault doesn’t always involve rape, and it’s not always possible for a survivor to know if they were raped, such as in cases of drug-facilitated assault, and survivors already often worry they weren’t “really� assaulted if they weren’t raped.) Plus, it isn’t a “kit,� and any kit elements are the least of it. Rather, it’s a complex process involving, sure, some tools and equipment, but mostly highly trained, specialized professionals, including nurses and advocates, along with strict and comprehensive medical protocols and legal procedures to help protect the integrity of evidence that already risks being misused and discredited in our systems that unfortunately are not built to handle these types of cases fairly or well.
I also want to emphasize that a very important reason to seek out one of these exams if you experience intimate partner or sexual violence - even if you have no plan or desire to report the crime - is because the trained nurses are also able to examine for and assist with specific health concerns, injuries, and risks associated with these types of violence: for just some instances, strangulation (which can cause hidden and later-onset damage), or STIs. It is a way to obtain some of the knowledgeable and specialized care that a survivor deserves.
Last, I also want to remark that this book seems very old-school feminism in that it seems to focus solely on women survivors. Men, including gay and trans men, also experience intimate partner violence and sexual violence, and they receive and can be assisted by these forensic exams - which is especially important given that abuse in these populations is underreported and often normalized or not believed.
I also want to say that it really bothered me that the term “rape kit� was used throughout. I understand using it in the title and when discussing the time during which they were initially developed and the term was actually used. However, in a decade of my related work in a major U.S. city, I have never heard the term used once, by anyone involved, not even law enforcement: it’s simply not how we refer to sexual or domestic assault forensic exams anymore. It’s dated, slangy, not respectful, and minimizing. These exams are used in many types of sexual and intimate partner violence cases other than for rape. (This is especially important because sexual assault doesn’t always involve rape, and it’s not always possible for a survivor to know if they were raped, such as in cases of drug-facilitated assault, and survivors already often worry they weren’t “really� assaulted if they weren’t raped.) Plus, it isn’t a “kit,� and any kit elements are the least of it. Rather, it’s a complex process involving, sure, some tools and equipment, but mostly highly trained, specialized professionals, including nurses and advocates, along with strict and comprehensive medical protocols and legal procedures to help protect the integrity of evidence that already risks being misused and discredited in our systems that unfortunately are not built to handle these types of cases fairly or well.
I also want to emphasize that a very important reason to seek out one of these exams if you experience intimate partner or sexual violence - even if you have no plan or desire to report the crime - is because the trained nurses are also able to examine for and assist with specific health concerns, injuries, and risks associated with these types of violence: for just some instances, strangulation (which can cause hidden and later-onset damage), or STIs. It is a way to obtain some of the knowledgeable and specialized care that a survivor deserves.
Last, I also want to remark that this book seems very old-school feminism in that it seems to focus solely on women survivors. Men, including gay and trans men, also experience intimate partner violence and sexual violence, and they receive and can be assisted by these forensic exams - which is especially important given that abuse in these populations is underreported and often normalized or not believed.
March 24, 2025
trigger warning for graphic descriptions of sexual abuse
very informative, notably on the police system’s corruption when handling sexual abuse reports. this is my first time reading a nonfiction book, and i’m happy that this read was easily digestible and accessible
very informative, notably on the police system’s corruption when handling sexual abuse reports. this is my first time reading a nonfiction book, and i’m happy that this read was easily digestible and accessible
May 7, 2024
Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for this advanced reader's copy. This was a fascinating book about the true woman behind the rape kit. It is extremely upsetting (but ultimately, not unbelievable) that it took until 1971 and a woman to deliver us the first rape kit. Marty Goddard was working at a crisis hotline and could not take it anymore, listening to survivor after survivor's story and hearing the same thing. She had to do something to stop these predators. Police would bungle cases if women came in to report a rape, assume it was a robbery instead, and make the women return home in hospital gowns and slippers. No wonder no women wanted to report anything if they weren't going to handled or taken seriously. Praise this woman for seeing a serious wrong and creating a path for these survivors to try to get justice.
November 6, 2024
A highly significant work of investigative journalism, feminism, and a tragic personal recounting.
This is a nonfiction memoir/biography extended from an NYT article about Marty Goddard, the indisputable inventor of the rape kit, who kickstarted the evidence collection for sexual assault cases. Her work was attributed to a male inventor, Vitullo, for decades. The book is well-researched, albeit with gaps Kennedy fills in fancifully (the true crime nonfiction aficionado may not like how personal this book gets since Kennedy also includes graphic details of her own trauma, which were difficult to read). Still, this book is incredibly important and it definitely educated me about the state of affairs behind the forensic aspect of sexual assault cases.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This is a nonfiction memoir/biography extended from an NYT article about Marty Goddard, the indisputable inventor of the rape kit, who kickstarted the evidence collection for sexual assault cases. Her work was attributed to a male inventor, Vitullo, for decades. The book is well-researched, albeit with gaps Kennedy fills in fancifully (the true crime nonfiction aficionado may not like how personal this book gets since Kennedy also includes graphic details of her own trauma, which were difficult to read). Still, this book is incredibly important and it definitely educated me about the state of affairs behind the forensic aspect of sexual assault cases.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
June 29, 2024
I received an ARC of the book from NetGalley, and this is my voluntary and unbiased review.
This non-fiction story, that reads like a piece of journalism, tells the amazing and previously unknown life of Marty Goddard. She is the woman who created the rape kit, which completely changed how we sexual assault cases are handled and investigated. Despite her important contribution, Marty Goddard's story disappeared from history, and this book brings her incredible achievements to light.
I was completely fascinated by this book from start to finish. Pagan Kennedy did an excellent job of documenting her attempts to locate Marty Goddard, and obtain a factual history of the crucial role she played in developing the rape kit. This is a history that I was almost completely unaware of, and I now view Marty Goddard as a major hero in the fight for justice for sexual assault victims. This book explored how for centuries sexual assault was considered to be unprovable, therefore was never taken seriously. I also appreciated how this white author took time to highlight the major differences that white women face when it comes to sexual assaults, compared to women of color. This is a book you do not want to miss.
This non-fiction story, that reads like a piece of journalism, tells the amazing and previously unknown life of Marty Goddard. She is the woman who created the rape kit, which completely changed how we sexual assault cases are handled and investigated. Despite her important contribution, Marty Goddard's story disappeared from history, and this book brings her incredible achievements to light.
I was completely fascinated by this book from start to finish. Pagan Kennedy did an excellent job of documenting her attempts to locate Marty Goddard, and obtain a factual history of the crucial role she played in developing the rape kit. This is a history that I was almost completely unaware of, and I now view Marty Goddard as a major hero in the fight for justice for sexual assault victims. This book explored how for centuries sexual assault was considered to be unprovable, therefore was never taken seriously. I also appreciated how this white author took time to highlight the major differences that white women face when it comes to sexual assaults, compared to women of color. This is a book you do not want to miss.
January 23, 2025
I found the information about Marty Goddard and her work developing the First Rape Kit in the 1970’s to be incredible. She was able to formulate ideas for putting an actual kit in a box together, but also envisioned a process that would be professional and go from trained nurse to the police department and eventually the district attorney’s office to prosecute Rape as a Real Crime that it is. She believed women and their stories and did not want rape to be judged based on the police’s idea of the woman’s virtue. She took each case seriously and saw how new technology could also translate into being taken more seriously. She dedicated herself to assisting rape victims. Then suddenly she was not heard from much again.
So, this was the best part of the book. After, Marty seems to have developed a mental illness and also became an alcoholic, less is known about her. It seems the author idealized her due to her own background of sexual abuse as a child. Yet, the book began to jump around a lot at this point and it became less clear what was fact and what the author assumed. This was detrimental and it seemed that there was much added in information that really did not add much to the story. The author begins to describe in graphic detail her own story and that reads more as a memoir. It was alright and even brave to mention this, but the way it was done did not weave well into a factual discussion of the rape kit or Marty.
Overall, I did enjoy this book as the vision to get rape kits started in Chicago was visionary and took much work to achieve. Martha “Marty� Goddard certainly deserved credit and praise for her role in this. It is wonderful that she is finally getting that. However, the book wanders a bit and since this was originally a magazine article it seems perhaps the author was trying to add content when she really didn’t have additional information. She never knew Marty and doesn’t give too much information from those who knew her that expands on this story. She does describe a rape Marty lived through and have to wonder if the very detailed description of this crime would have been something Marty would have actually wanted. I think this should have been considered more.
Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor, and Pagan Kennedy for a copy of this book. I always write reviews of books I read.
So, this was the best part of the book. After, Marty seems to have developed a mental illness and also became an alcoholic, less is known about her. It seems the author idealized her due to her own background of sexual abuse as a child. Yet, the book began to jump around a lot at this point and it became less clear what was fact and what the author assumed. This was detrimental and it seemed that there was much added in information that really did not add much to the story. The author begins to describe in graphic detail her own story and that reads more as a memoir. It was alright and even brave to mention this, but the way it was done did not weave well into a factual discussion of the rape kit or Marty.
Overall, I did enjoy this book as the vision to get rape kits started in Chicago was visionary and took much work to achieve. Martha “Marty� Goddard certainly deserved credit and praise for her role in this. It is wonderful that she is finally getting that. However, the book wanders a bit and since this was originally a magazine article it seems perhaps the author was trying to add content when she really didn’t have additional information. She never knew Marty and doesn’t give too much information from those who knew her that expands on this story. She does describe a rape Marty lived through and have to wonder if the very detailed description of this crime would have been something Marty would have actually wanted. I think this should have been considered more.
Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor, and Pagan Kennedy for a copy of this book. I always write reviews of books I read.
June 7, 2024
This was a difficult read, it's going to be a difficult book to review and a difficult book to rate.
Kennedy has done some great research in uncovering the history of the rape kit and investigating the life of its inventor, Marty Goddard. It’s an important, forgotten, obscured story that deserves to be told. But I had a difficult time with the author, Kennedy and her voice in the book. It’s a hybrid memoir-biography, with the biography covering a woman Kennedy has never met, and the memoir covering her own sexual trauma. For me, there was more about Kennedy than I needed or wanted to hear. There are several graphic assault scenes described in the book, from Kennedy’s own experiences to cases that are covered and even Goddard’s own assault that she confided with friends about. From reading the biography, I don’t think Goddard would have been comfortable with her rape being publicized, let alone described in graphic detail. I can understand how parts of these accounts are essential � Goddard’s rape had a huge effect on her life, for example, but learning exactly how she was assaulted seems at best unnecessary and at worst exploitative.
I expected to love this book, and instead I’m left thinking more about the ethics of what Kennedy has written.
***Review of a digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC). The text of an advance edition may differ slightly from the final market version that is distributed for sale. Received via NetGalley.
Kennedy has done some great research in uncovering the history of the rape kit and investigating the life of its inventor, Marty Goddard. It’s an important, forgotten, obscured story that deserves to be told. But I had a difficult time with the author, Kennedy and her voice in the book. It’s a hybrid memoir-biography, with the biography covering a woman Kennedy has never met, and the memoir covering her own sexual trauma. For me, there was more about Kennedy than I needed or wanted to hear. There are several graphic assault scenes described in the book, from Kennedy’s own experiences to cases that are covered and even Goddard’s own assault that she confided with friends about. From reading the biography, I don’t think Goddard would have been comfortable with her rape being publicized, let alone described in graphic detail. I can understand how parts of these accounts are essential � Goddard’s rape had a huge effect on her life, for example, but learning exactly how she was assaulted seems at best unnecessary and at worst exploitative.
I expected to love this book, and instead I’m left thinking more about the ethics of what Kennedy has written.
***Review of a digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC). The text of an advance edition may differ slightly from the final market version that is distributed for sale. Received via NetGalley.
January 13, 2025
The Secret History of the Rape Kit starts off strong detailing Martha "Marty" Goddard's activism and her work creating the rape kit. However, in part two, it gets lost narratively after the author discovers The book then becomes very disjointed and it seems like Kennedy is throwing whatever related material might fit. There was potential here but it should have stayed an article.
February 4, 2025
First up on my non-fiction reads of 2025 - The Secret History of the Rape Kit.
Thank you, PRH Audio, for the free copy of this book {partner}
Genre: Non-Fiction
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date: 1.14.2025
Pages: 237
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆
“When we drive through a tunnel or climb a flight of stairs, most of us don’t think about who designed the path that we’re traveling and how that person intended to shape our behavior and yet the infrastructure we use every day is constantly feeding us messages about who is important and who is not.�
Having worked with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault for six years, I found this book deeply compelling. I realized, with a sense of humility, that I had never really thought about the origins of the rape kit—who advocated for its development or where it came from. While I’ve reviewed evidence from these kits in the past, I never paused to consider the individuals who fought for its creation and use.
What I found particularly difficult to come to terms with, while listening to The Secret History of the Rape Kit, was the realization that much of what is discussed occurred in the not-so-distant past. And, if we’re truly honest, many of these issues continue to persist in our society today, especially in the way survivors of sexual violence are treated. It’s heartbreaking that being treated with respect and dignity after such an unimaginable violation is still seen as a privilege, rather than a fundamental right.
Audiobook Review: ☆☆☆☆�
Claire Danes narrates The Secret History of the Rape Kit with a calm, measured tone that balanced the emotional intensity of the story. Her voice makes the often difficult subject matter more accessible, allowing listeners to engage with the content while still feeling the weight of the narrative.
I recommend reading The Secret History of the Rape Kit if you’re looking to learn more about an overlooked moment in history.
______
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Thank you, PRH Audio, for the free copy of this book {partner}
Genre: Non-Fiction
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date: 1.14.2025
Pages: 237
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆
“When we drive through a tunnel or climb a flight of stairs, most of us don’t think about who designed the path that we’re traveling and how that person intended to shape our behavior and yet the infrastructure we use every day is constantly feeding us messages about who is important and who is not.�
Having worked with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault for six years, I found this book deeply compelling. I realized, with a sense of humility, that I had never really thought about the origins of the rape kit—who advocated for its development or where it came from. While I’ve reviewed evidence from these kits in the past, I never paused to consider the individuals who fought for its creation and use.
What I found particularly difficult to come to terms with, while listening to The Secret History of the Rape Kit, was the realization that much of what is discussed occurred in the not-so-distant past. And, if we’re truly honest, many of these issues continue to persist in our society today, especially in the way survivors of sexual violence are treated. It’s heartbreaking that being treated with respect and dignity after such an unimaginable violation is still seen as a privilege, rather than a fundamental right.
Audiobook Review: ☆☆☆☆�
Claire Danes narrates The Secret History of the Rape Kit with a calm, measured tone that balanced the emotional intensity of the story. Her voice makes the often difficult subject matter more accessible, allowing listeners to engage with the content while still feeling the weight of the narrative.
I recommend reading The Secret History of the Rape Kit if you’re looking to learn more about an overlooked moment in history.
______
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Follow me on ŷ:/chaptersofc...
Follow me on StoryGraph:
March 2, 2025
Medium soft DNF @ 59 for me.
I do not like the structure of this book.
I loved the history lessons and interview style updates, but the deep dive into personal trauma was a bit too much for me. I would be deep in a history lesson, learning about some fierce woman pushing against injustice, and then in the next moment I’m thrown into a heart wrenching story about abuse told from the survivors perspective (with seemingly no direct connection to what was just discussed).
It did not fit with what the author was trying to portray with “the history of the r*pe kit.�
This honestly should have been in two parts. Something like Part 1: Marty. Part 2: Personal - just to give the readers some choice whether they want to read what could essentially be seen as a trauma dump.
Even with this being said; this is not to rag on the author, nor is it to shame anyone for getting their story, perspective or experience out there. We should always create safe spaces for this, so I encourage it. I just think the book would have benefited from a different structuring.
4/10 would recommend?
I do not like the structure of this book.
I loved the history lessons and interview style updates, but the deep dive into personal trauma was a bit too much for me. I would be deep in a history lesson, learning about some fierce woman pushing against injustice, and then in the next moment I’m thrown into a heart wrenching story about abuse told from the survivors perspective (with seemingly no direct connection to what was just discussed).
It did not fit with what the author was trying to portray with “the history of the r*pe kit.�
This honestly should have been in two parts. Something like Part 1: Marty. Part 2: Personal - just to give the readers some choice whether they want to read what could essentially be seen as a trauma dump.
Even with this being said; this is not to rag on the author, nor is it to shame anyone for getting their story, perspective or experience out there. We should always create safe spaces for this, so I encourage it. I just think the book would have benefited from a different structuring.
4/10 would recommend?
January 23, 2025
Thank you so much Random House and Netgalley for this free arc! This book was heartbreakingly eye opening. There were so many things I didn’t know. The absolute disgust I felt reading about men and rape culture in the 70’s and 80’s.
“At the time (1970s) it was still legal in every state in America for a husband to force himself on his wife. Sexual violence that happened inside a house, inside a family, was not considered rape.�
Part of the eye opening experience I endured reading this was realizing that the rape kit was invented and utilized in the 80’s. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF RAPE KITS WERE STORED AND UNPROCESSED FOR DECADES until the Obama administration in 2015 granted millions of dollars to test these samples, FINALLY. Which led to an insane amount of convictions. The police officers didn’t care before this point in time. They treated rape survivors like a joke, hanging women’s panties over the sexual crime department in one Chicago police department.
“So many girls were crying rape, what’s the point of looking for physical evidence?� - a police detective in Pennsylvania
Yall. It’s despicable. All the false imprisonment of black men. Interrogating rape survivors for hours after they’ve been brutally assaulted and then saying “We don’t believe you. Women can’t be raped against their will.� This was so eye opening and I’m just absolutely floored that it took over 30 years for anyone to take it seriously AND ITS STILL NOT.
“The attitude of the state was, she said, “What the heck, it’s Black on Black no big deal.�
If anything, I recommend this book as some really good education on rape culture and the decades of sweat and tears it took to even have the system we have today.
.
.
.
ʏᴏᴜʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪ� ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
•True Crime
•Women’s rights
•Current events
•BDz
“At the time (1970s) it was still legal in every state in America for a husband to force himself on his wife. Sexual violence that happened inside a house, inside a family, was not considered rape.�
Part of the eye opening experience I endured reading this was realizing that the rape kit was invented and utilized in the 80’s. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF RAPE KITS WERE STORED AND UNPROCESSED FOR DECADES until the Obama administration in 2015 granted millions of dollars to test these samples, FINALLY. Which led to an insane amount of convictions. The police officers didn’t care before this point in time. They treated rape survivors like a joke, hanging women’s panties over the sexual crime department in one Chicago police department.
“So many girls were crying rape, what’s the point of looking for physical evidence?� - a police detective in Pennsylvania
Yall. It’s despicable. All the false imprisonment of black men. Interrogating rape survivors for hours after they’ve been brutally assaulted and then saying “We don’t believe you. Women can’t be raped against their will.� This was so eye opening and I’m just absolutely floored that it took over 30 years for anyone to take it seriously AND ITS STILL NOT.
“The attitude of the state was, she said, “What the heck, it’s Black on Black no big deal.�
If anything, I recommend this book as some really good education on rape culture and the decades of sweat and tears it took to even have the system we have today.
.
.
.
ʏᴏᴜʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪ� ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
•True Crime
•Women’s rights
•Current events
•BDz
February 27, 2025
Once again a remarkable woman I had never heard of! Amazing fighter for women’s rights, and so maddening that her rape kit design was stolen by a freaking MAN!
March 16, 2025
Eye-opening, heartbreaking and admirable.
January 5, 2025
3.5 stars Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC. I have read a number of less than glowing reviews about this book, but I thought it was really good--I suppose I could have been transfixed by the excellent narration by Claire Danes.
It seems as though there was not a lot of evidence about Marty Goddard, but that the author did her best to pull together a fair narrative. I feel she addressed the systemic biases and misogyny that lent to a rape kit not being made until the late 70's and then the many excuses found in the system to then not trust the results of said kits.
I agree with reviewers who felt the hybrid memoir-biography was at times off-putting, and I, too, doubt that Mary Goddard would have wanted her sexual assault written about with such detail.
I appreciated the final piece about the Smithsonian as it shows another example of how we still have a long way to go.
It seems as though there was not a lot of evidence about Marty Goddard, but that the author did her best to pull together a fair narrative. I feel she addressed the systemic biases and misogyny that lent to a rape kit not being made until the late 70's and then the many excuses found in the system to then not trust the results of said kits.
I agree with reviewers who felt the hybrid memoir-biography was at times off-putting, and I, too, doubt that Mary Goddard would have wanted her sexual assault written about with such detail.
I appreciated the final piece about the Smithsonian as it shows another example of how we still have a long way to go.
January 25, 2025
Wow, brilliant. This new release feels more relevant than ever. What Kennedy does here is so worthwhile, researching the history of the rape kit and looking back through history on the injustices we still grapple with today because of infrastructures that continue to protect (most often) the cis white man. It's not a vendetta of white men, but to me its simple // our structures show us what and who is worth caring about. Kennedy learns of Marty Goddard and sets out to find the true story of this woman lost in time. Along with Kennedy's own story and connection to the protection of survivors this is a beautiful and brilliant piece I would recommend to anyone.
March 27, 2025
This was an impactful and deeply personal read. Naturally, much of the content is sensitive and unsettling, but I appreciate the author’s willingness to open up about her own story while creating a safe space for readers to become better informed.
One of my favorite things about this book is its length—it’s incredibly efficient. We get a wealth of information while also following Kennedy’s journalistic journey, shining a light on the forgotten woman behind the rape kit. The writing is clear, focused, and poignant.
It’s no surprise that a woman was behind the invention of the rape kit. What’s heartbreaking is the struggle to have it taken seriously—a struggle that, in many ways, continues today. The book also highlights the countless ways survivors' voices are suppressed and the systemic obstacles that remain in place to undermine their protection and justice. One of the most fascinating (and equally frustrating) aspects was learning about the various attempts to create in-home kits and the behind-the-scenes processes of forensic evidence collection.
Reading this, you can’t help but feel a heavy heart. While the book honors Mary Goddard in a powerful, almost heroic way, it’s devastating to see the hardships she endured—both in her personal life and in her fight for justice. The author does an excellent job depicting Goddard’s resilience, making this a truly necessary read.
Thank you to Netgalley & Vintage for this egalley!
One of my favorite things about this book is its length—it’s incredibly efficient. We get a wealth of information while also following Kennedy’s journalistic journey, shining a light on the forgotten woman behind the rape kit. The writing is clear, focused, and poignant.
It’s no surprise that a woman was behind the invention of the rape kit. What’s heartbreaking is the struggle to have it taken seriously—a struggle that, in many ways, continues today. The book also highlights the countless ways survivors' voices are suppressed and the systemic obstacles that remain in place to undermine their protection and justice. One of the most fascinating (and equally frustrating) aspects was learning about the various attempts to create in-home kits and the behind-the-scenes processes of forensic evidence collection.
Reading this, you can’t help but feel a heavy heart. While the book honors Mary Goddard in a powerful, almost heroic way, it’s devastating to see the hardships she endured—both in her personal life and in her fight for justice. The author does an excellent job depicting Goddard’s resilience, making this a truly necessary read.
Thank you to Netgalley & Vintage for this egalley!
December 26, 2024
Gifted by: Vintage Anchor
THIS BOOK IS EASILY ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ THIS YEAR, AND I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE WORLD TO READ THIS GEM!
The book can be distilled into:
-Who is Marty Goodard?
-What did Marty Goodard do?
- And where is Marty Goodard?
Despite Wikipedia originally labeling Louis R. Vitullo as the creator of the rape kit, Pagan Kennedy’s deep investigative work reveals that Marty Goodard is its true creator. The book is a biographical tribute honoring Marty’s life and her wonderful contribution to the world.
The book discusses how Marty’s work with a Chicago crisis hotline, where she listened to the harrowing, horrific stories of girls being molested and rapists running amok with impunity, emboldened her to create a new forensic tool: the first rape kit. However, Herculean obstacles were placed in front of Marty. Marty had to jump through multiple sexism-laden hurdles. From utilizing a grant from the Playboy Foundation to cover the dearth of funding for the rape kit to getting dolls placed in police precincts to help children demonstrate what happened to them, Marty made constant improvements, altering procedural workflows, to help those that were sexually assaulted. Then, Marty Goddard seemed to disappear without a trace. Pagan Kennedy then goes on a woman hunt for this champion of women—Marty Goodard.
On top of discussing the rape kit’s origin, different adaptations of the rape kit were discussed as well. Epidemiological data about rape and the author’s own sexual assault experiences were weaved in as well. However, I felt that the author’s own sexual assault experiences were a bit distracting and left me disappointed. The author never exacted justice on those who deeply wronged and traumatized her. Her story and decision felt unempowering in contrast to Marty’s empowering persona.
THIS BOOK IS EASILY ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ THIS YEAR, AND I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE WORLD TO READ THIS GEM!
The book can be distilled into:
-Who is Marty Goodard?
-What did Marty Goodard do?
- And where is Marty Goodard?
Despite Wikipedia originally labeling Louis R. Vitullo as the creator of the rape kit, Pagan Kennedy’s deep investigative work reveals that Marty Goodard is its true creator. The book is a biographical tribute honoring Marty’s life and her wonderful contribution to the world.
The book discusses how Marty’s work with a Chicago crisis hotline, where she listened to the harrowing, horrific stories of girls being molested and rapists running amok with impunity, emboldened her to create a new forensic tool: the first rape kit. However, Herculean obstacles were placed in front of Marty. Marty had to jump through multiple sexism-laden hurdles. From utilizing a grant from the Playboy Foundation to cover the dearth of funding for the rape kit to getting dolls placed in police precincts to help children demonstrate what happened to them, Marty made constant improvements, altering procedural workflows, to help those that were sexually assaulted. Then, Marty Goddard seemed to disappear without a trace. Pagan Kennedy then goes on a woman hunt for this champion of women—Marty Goodard.
On top of discussing the rape kit’s origin, different adaptations of the rape kit were discussed as well. Epidemiological data about rape and the author’s own sexual assault experiences were weaved in as well. However, I felt that the author’s own sexual assault experiences were a bit distracting and left me disappointed. The author never exacted justice on those who deeply wronged and traumatized her. Her story and decision felt unempowering in contrast to Marty’s empowering persona.
January 20, 2025
Unfortunately this was a mess. I don’t understand the structure and it kept hopping around so I wasn’t totally sure what the goal of the book was. Too bad as it’s a topic that’s personally important.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC
October 28, 2024
A fascinating look at the secret history of the rape kit and the uncredited woman who created the kit - Martha Goddard. The author details her experience trying to track down Martha and piece together the history of the rape kit. The author describes her own experience with sexual assault (so trigger warnings for that as there are details given), and although I have seen criticism of this, I think it’s important in understanding the author’s motivation and persistence in getting to the bottom of the history of the rape kit.
This is the type of non fiction that mixes facts and education with the author’s personal anecdotes and experiences. I personally prefer this type of non fiction as it makes it more interesting and personable. I learned so much from this about the history of the rape kit, how it was created, what it included, how it was implemented, who funded it, etc. It also details the criticisms and barriers of getting the rape kit to be used as standard practice.
Overall, an educational and heartfelt look into the history of the rape kit.
Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the type of non fiction that mixes facts and education with the author’s personal anecdotes and experiences. I personally prefer this type of non fiction as it makes it more interesting and personable. I learned so much from this about the history of the rape kit, how it was created, what it included, how it was implemented, who funded it, etc. It also details the criticisms and barriers of getting the rape kit to be used as standard practice.
Overall, an educational and heartfelt look into the history of the rape kit.
Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 30, 2025
5 stars. Excellent on audio! 🎧
January 15, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for giving me this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
TW: Violence, graphic SA
*
*
Let me start this review by saying THIS BOOK IS TRIGGERING. There are VERY graphic sexual assault accounts about both the author and the woman she’s writing about. If that easily triggers you, please do not read this book.
This is a book about the woman who made the first properly used Rape Kit in America and advocated for woman’s rights. There were a lot of things about the book that pissed me off but it was more the disheartening realization that it took until the 1970s for this to be taken semi-seriously. As someone who grew up watching SVU and hearing about Olivia Benson (she’s not mentioned in the book; this was just my own observation and clarity) being survivors guiding light, it hit me why her character has been so very important to the cause. Less than 25 years had passed since anyone really started advocating to SA victims and this was the first onscreen fmc to fight for us in this way and continue to fight for us.
Anyway, I loved the books main plot and history BUT I don’t know if this needed to be a book ? There was a lot of things that could’ve been taken out and the point still would have gotten across. But for my own bias reasons, I give it a 5/5.
TW: Violence, graphic SA
*
*
Let me start this review by saying THIS BOOK IS TRIGGERING. There are VERY graphic sexual assault accounts about both the author and the woman she’s writing about. If that easily triggers you, please do not read this book.
This is a book about the woman who made the first properly used Rape Kit in America and advocated for woman’s rights. There were a lot of things about the book that pissed me off but it was more the disheartening realization that it took until the 1970s for this to be taken semi-seriously. As someone who grew up watching SVU and hearing about Olivia Benson (she’s not mentioned in the book; this was just my own observation and clarity) being survivors guiding light, it hit me why her character has been so very important to the cause. Less than 25 years had passed since anyone really started advocating to SA victims and this was the first onscreen fmc to fight for us in this way and continue to fight for us.
Anyway, I loved the books main plot and history BUT I don’t know if this needed to be a book ? There was a lot of things that could’ve been taken out and the point still would have gotten across. But for my own bias reasons, I give it a 5/5.
September 21, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC.
I am so glad I decided to read this book, it was well written and author did an amazing job going through details without making it boring.
This book was another reminder how women and poc were forced to give away their ideas, discoveries, inventions to white men because that’s was the only way things happened back then. I never want to hear it again that men invented most things. The actual statement is men stole most invention ideas.
The day I started reading this book, was the day I had an argument with a man over how men changed the world with their inventions😭 girl if only you knew.
Overall, I’m so glad I decided to read this book. Thank you once again. Also thank you so much to all the women and people who have sacrificed so much for us, over the expense of their own sanity. Words can’t describe how much you help society become a better place, thank you.
I am so glad I decided to read this book, it was well written and author did an amazing job going through details without making it boring.
This book was another reminder how women and poc were forced to give away their ideas, discoveries, inventions to white men because that’s was the only way things happened back then. I never want to hear it again that men invented most things. The actual statement is men stole most invention ideas.
The day I started reading this book, was the day I had an argument with a man over how men changed the world with their inventions😭 girl if only you knew.
Overall, I’m so glad I decided to read this book. Thank you once again. Also thank you so much to all the women and people who have sacrificed so much for us, over the expense of their own sanity. Words can’t describe how much you help society become a better place, thank you.
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