Congress has voted to strip commanders of the authority to overturn or modify findings and convictions of sexual assaults, one of more than 30 reforms aimed at reducing sexual assault in the military.

Public crime labs processed 10% more DNA cases in 2011 than in 2009, while demand for such tests grew by 16%, according to a new Justice Department report on the activities at 120 labs across the nation.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) are the winner’s of RAINN’s 2013 Crime Fighter Award, in recognition of their leadership in the fight against sexual violence.

In a strong show of bipartisan cooperation, today the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 822, the Justice For All Reauthorization Act of 2013.

Among the many atrocities that were brought to light during the proceedings against convicted rapist and kidnapper Ariel Castro, one in particular has caught the attention the attention of Congress.

It’s appropriations season on Capitol Hill, and that means House and Senate leaders (and, especially, their staffs) are working long hours to craft spending bills for the new fiscal year that starts October 1. However, it’s not yet clear if those bills will ever become law.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, siding with Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), resolved to leave decisions about sexual assault prosecution in the hands of military commanders rather than removing those decisions from the chain-of-command.

The Justice Department wants services for victims of crime to move into the 21st century by making better use of technology and basing services on thorough research and evaluation.

"DNA has already aided nearly 200,000 investigations, and thanks to today's decision it will continue to be a detective's most valuable tool in solving rape cases.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced the Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2013, which would renew and expand existing law to better use DNA technology to combat crimes.