The Technoscientific Witness of Rape: Contentious Histories of Law, Feminism, and Forensic Science

The Technoscientific Witness of Rape by Andrea Quinlan is a thoughtful and brave analysis of the long and complex history of the Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK). Quinlan, an assistant professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at Trent University, breaks down how the SAEK was molded by the legal, medical, technological, and societal influences of the last 30 years. Through 62 interviews with professionals in legal and medical fields, police, and most importantly, survivors, Quinlan meticulously documents how sexism, classism, ageism, and racism have affected the usage of the SAEK since its inception. The author raises the thought-provoking, yet controversial, question: To whose benefit does the SAEK actually serve?

It’s easy to assume that technology has evolved to help survivors of sexual violence—but through personal accounts of the aftermath of sexual assault, Quinlan suggests the contrary. The author’s first-hand interviews inject research with frightening stories from survivors, making readers doubt the presence of any justice in sexual assault cases. Her investigation shows that, despite the evolution of technology and changing attitudes toward sexual violence, survivors are still reluctant to come forward out of fear of being distrusted and re-victimized. Despite the fact the SAEK was initially made out to be the “ultimate witness,” it still holds the capacity to re-traumatize and cast doubt on survivors.

After more than 30 years of a broken system that has, by and large, not encouraged women to come forward or even bring about more arrests, Quinlan explores if things could ever change. The book is difficult to read, but it is vitally important to understanding the flaws standing in the way of justice for survivors.

Roberts’s readings are both original and politically engaged. She deftly combats charges that Rohinton Mistry’s refusal to represent his “host” country in spite of the accolades it’s bestowed upon him—to “pay up”— makes him a bad guest. Drawing parallels between Mistry’s representations of political disenfranchisement in India and his public excoriation of cuts to social-welfare programs under Mike Harris’s “Common Sense Revolution,” Roberts makes the case for the political efficacy of a cosmopolitan citizenship that stands in two places at once.

Digressions like Roberts’ discussion of the idiosyncrasies of Canadian film distribution in her chapter on Carol Shields are less carefully considered. And provocative as the book is in tracing the delicate steps of writers such as Michael Ondaatje, granted honorary citizenship for works that needle the nation now hailing him as its own, its shifts from literary analysis to reception history can be jarring. Still, this is an important study—a smart look at border-crossing books about border crossing that is attentive, as Roberts says about Yann Martel, to the “radically simultaneous” potential of Canadian identities.