Rape Kit Dye that Works on All Skin Colors
After a rape, forensic nurses fully document sexual assault victims’ injuries by using a dye that causes lacerations and tears on the skin to “light up.” But the dye — a dark blue — doesn’t show on people of color, and that often means the perpetrators go free. However, University of Virginia researcher and associate professor in the School of Nursing, Kathryn Laughon, has posited the use of a fluorescent dye as the answer to help illuminate tissue lacerations and abrasions for all skin types and colors. Laughon, who is also an active forensic nurse examiner, explains that when women are examined after a suspected sexual assault, the nurse typically applies the dye, wipes the extra off, and the areas of injury “light up.” Nurses like Laughon see two to three times as many injuries with the dye as without, so it’s a critical step in assessing and documenting what had occurred during the assault.
Source: Forensicmag.com
Citation:
Kueter, C. Forensic Magazine. Rape Kit Dye that Works on All Skin Colors. Retrieved June 26, 2013, from http://www.forensicmag.com/news/2013/06/rape-kit-dye-works-all-skin-colors?et_cid=3324453&et_rid=515363537&location=top#.Ucs9qPnCaSo
