It takes just over one minute and a half to take all of the 16 envelopes (each a step in the process) out of one rape kit box (image to the right).

The current kits are designed to be collected by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), however, fewer than 20% of hospitals in the US have SANE programs or a forensic nurse on staff. This means that the majority of kits are collected by Emergency Room health providers, many who have never even seen a kit before and who described the experience as something with far too much paperwork and that is incredibly time consuming. The current kits are covered in paperwork, difficult designs, and confusing instructions that create a massive cognitive overload for healthcare providers and an exam that can take up to 10 hours to complete. So it’s no surprise why there have been reports of healthcare providers turning survivors away, and why many of the nurses in the initial research, describe the process as overwhelming.

For a survivor who has just experienced an assault, getting help is difficult and inaccessible. It is hard to simply find out what to do and where to go, especially where to get a kit. The kits are typically found in Emergency Rooms, and disproportionately in ERs in whiter, wealthier neighborhoods. For example, in New York, kits are available in 46% of hospitals in Manhattan, but only 9% of hospitals in Queens and 18% of hospitals in the Bronx. When a survivor is able to find a facility with a kit, the process can be traumatizing, painful, long, and with little to no transparency around what will happen during the exam and what will happen to them after. If a survivor choses to go through with getting a kit, there is little access to tracking their kit and their case and as mentioned, rarely do the kits or cases end in any conviction.

Margo is a redesigned sexual assault evidence kit (rape kit) and integrated app that improves the experience of getting help and collecting evidence after a sexual assault for both healthcare providers and survivors. The kit is redesigned to make the process less time consuming and easier to navigate for providers and includes tracking and digitized processes that currently don't exist. The new visual redesign of the kit box includes color-coordinated envelopes or steps, the help the nurse navigate what steps are essential based on the victim’s assault. The app is primarily patient-facing and is integrated with each survivors kit to guide them through the experience step by step and provide more information on how to report and track their kits.

This project began as my Master’s thesis work at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). I recognized that there were over 400,000 untested rape kits and hypothesized that this could be a design problem. I spent 2 years researching sexual assault responses, volunteered as a Gender Violence Advocate at the New York Presbyterian Hospital to gain first hand research and insights into the problem. From there, I designed 6 different design solutions to improve the reporting process (all designs below).

This project won a Fast Company 2020 World Changing Ideas Award, a NYCxDesign 2019 Award and various speaking engagements as an emerging designer such as at Design Indaba.