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This quote is nonsense. As another commenter noted, the 86% of victims being people of color roughly matches the demographics of the city. As Worthy herself not

by ancap 9y ago

This quote is nonsense. As another commenter noted, the 86% of victims being people of color roughly matches the demographics of the city. As Worthy herself notes there are hundreds of thousands untested rape-kits nationwide, affecting predominantly white areas as well. You can see more stats at http://www.endthebacklog.org/backlog/where-backlog-exists-and-whats-happening-end-it http://www.endthebacklog.org/backlog/where-backlog-exists-an.... The fact that the backlog has grown so large in Detroit (in relation to other areas) is a consequence of the city being bankrupt. The period of time that the backlog ballooned happened when the city was run by black mayors (note: I'm not saying that as attribution). Also the police department is predominantly made up of blacks, roughly reflecting the demographics of the city. To portray this as a conspiracy against black women is absurd.

dragonwriter 9y ago
> As another commenter noted, the 86% of victims being people of color roughly matches the demographics of the city. Not at the time the kits were collected, it doesn't.
kolbe 9y ago
I'm not sure why consistency with city demographics should matter. Shouldn't it be aligned with the racial demographics of the typical victim? In Chicago, for instance, 75% of homicide victims are black despite only representing 32% of the population. If a discrepancy that large can exist in homicide data, I'm sure a similar one can be seen for rape in Detroit.
- ancap 9y ago
  You're right, which is further evidence of the lack of a conspiracy. If we assume that most rapes occur disproportionally in poorer neighborhoods, then 86% of Detroit rapes from 1984-2009 happening to poorer black women sounds quite probable.
  - pasquinelli 9y ago
    but that could be evidence of a different "conspiracy", not about testing rape kits but about policing black neighborhoods-- maybe not enough policing, or maybe policing of a sort that simply doesn't have any good effect on violent crime.

by ancap 9y ago

dragonwriter 9y ago

> As another commenter noted, the 86% of victims being people of color roughly matches the demographics of the city. Not at the time the kits were collected, it doesn't.

kolbe 9y ago

I'm not sure why consistency with city demographics should matter. Shouldn't it be aligned with the racial demographics of the typical victim? In Chicago, for instance, 75% of homicide victims are black despite only representing 32% of the population. If a discrepancy that large can exist in homicide data, I'm sure a similar one can be seen for rape in Detroit.

ancap 9y ago
You're right, which is further evidence of the lack of a conspiracy. If we assume that most rapes occur disproportionally in poorer neighborhoods, then 86% of Detroit rapes from 1984-2009 happening to poorer black women sounds quite probable.
- pasquinelli 9y ago
  but that could be evidence of a different "conspiracy", not about testing rape kits but about policing black neighborhoods-- maybe not enough policing, or maybe policing of a sort that simply doesn't have any good effect on violent crime.