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

Rape support groups say the home kits ‘may give survivors false hope that any evidence they gather could be relied on in a criminal trial’ - (Getty)

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.