Self-swab ‘rape kits’ being marketed at students a ‘serious concern’

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Kits allow victims to take a swab and send it to be tested for the DNA of an alleged perpetrator

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Rape support groups have expressed “serious concerns” over self-swab ‘rape kits’ being marketed towards university students in the UK.

The kits allow people who have been sexually assaulted or raped to take a swab themselves and send it off to a lab to be tested for the DNA of the alleged perpetrator. Half the sample is frozen and can be kept for up to 20 years and handed to the police if the incident is later reported.