Why DIY Rape Kits Are Dangerous
Survivors need care, not kits — and why leading organisations are warning against them
Over recent months, so-called “self-swab rape kits” have been promoted online and on university campuses as a way to “end rape” - marketed as tools for survivors to collect their own evidence or confirm what’s happened to them.
But leading organisations - including Rape Crisis England & Wales, Victim Support, and the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) - are warning that these kits could put survivors at risk, offering false reassurance instead of real protection. Experts across law, medicine, and forensics have voiced concern that such products may mislead survivors, retraumatise them, and fail in both legal and emotional terms.
Evidence collected at home isn’t legally sound
Forensic evidence must be gathered in sterile, controlled conditions to avoid contamination and preserve what’s known as the “chain of custody.”
A self-testing kit can’t meet those standards, meaning any DNA obtained is unlikely to be accepted in court. Even if a lab can detect another person’s DNA, the result would not hold up as credible forensic evidence.
DNA rarely determines rape trials
Rape cases are almost always decided on the issue of consent, not on whether DNA is found. Even professional forensic evidence is rarely decisive. Framing self-swab kits as a route to justice risks giving survivors the wrong impression about what actually shapes outcomes - and shifts responsibility for “proving” assault back onto those already harmed.
Survivors deserve trauma-informed support, not commercial substitutes
Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) and Rape Crisis centres offer comprehensive, trauma-informed care: medical attention, counselling, advocacy, and safe, professional evidence collection. A consumer product cannot provide any of that. It cannot assess injuries, check for internal harm, or connect survivors to longer-term help. These kits risk discouraging people from attending official services - the very places equipped to support them.
Innovation shouldn’t come at the survivors’ expense
Companies behind these kits often argue they offer empowerment or new options outside the justice system. However, legal and forensic experts - including the Home Office and professional bodies such as the FFLM - have made it clear that self-collected samples cannot replace formal forensic processes and may expose survivors to further risk. Similar products in the United States have already faced bans or legal challenges for misleading marketing.
Real help starts with care, not kits
Both Rape Crisis England and Wales and Victim Support share the same message: survivors should never have to face this alone, nor rely on tools that promise validation but deliver uncertainty.
If you’ve experienced sexual violence, you can contact:
