When she was 22 years old, Amanda Nguyen was raped. Within 24 hours of the assault, Nguyen did exactly what she was supposed to: She went to the hospital to have a rape kit examination. But while she took immediate action, there was no guarantee that the critical evidence would be preserved long enough to be of use. Massachusetts, where Nguyen was living at the time, only keeps rape kits on lab shelves for six months.
