Joyful Heart Foundation - Shelved (2018)

 Trigger warning: This video explicitly mentions rape and may be difficult for some viewers to watch.

On February 13, 2018, the Joyful Heart Foundation today released Shelved, a public service announcement (PSA) highlighting the backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits languishing in law enforcement storage facilities across the United States.

Every 98 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States. That staggering number is made even more shocking when one learns that victims often never get justice because their rape kits remain untested, sitting on warehouse shelves.

In the aftermath of a sexual assault, a victim who chooses to undergo an exhaustive and invasive forensic evidence collection examination — often referred to as a rape kit— expects the kit will be tested and the evidence used to prosecute the attacker. Victims and the public alike assume those kits are tested, when in fact there is a backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits, sitting on shelves in warehouses for months, years, even decades while perpetrators remain free to commit other sexual assaults.

Through this PSA campaign, Joyful Heart is seeking to activate grassroots support for work in state capitols across the country to change the way rape kits are handled, expand survivors’ rights, and ensure every single kit is tested. Every single kit, in every state.

Shelved was developed by Invisible Man, an agency founded by Rachel Howald and directed by famed filmmaker and cinematographer Ellen Kuras, who is best known for her work on the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It was created in partnership with Viacom Velocity. The spots are being distributed pro bono by Boom Broadcasting, and they will air on Viacom’s networks and the Investigation Discovery channel.

CREDITS:

Joyful Heart Foundation

Founder & President - Mariska Hargitay

Managing Director - Sarah Haacke Byrd

Vice President, External Affairs - Lisa Winjum

Invisible Man

Founder - Rachel Howald

Executive Producer - Lisa Goore

Art Director - Rachel Howald

Copywriter - Rachel Howald

Viacom Velocity

Executive Producer - Niels Schuurmans

Producer - Tony Calandra

Production Company - The Corner Shop

Director - Ellen Kuras

Production Company Executive Producer - Anna Hashmi

Production Company Producer - Jessica Miller 

Editorial Company - Rock Paper Scissors NY

Executive Producer - Eve Kornblum

Producer - Lisa Barnable

Editor - Chris Mitchell

Assistant Editor - Tania Mesta

VFX/Flame - Eddie Reina

Colorist - Sofie Borup

Producer - Alexandra Lubano

Music Consultant - Paul Greco

Music - “The Light” by The Album Leaf

Sound Mixing - Tom Jucarone @ Sound Lounge