Societal Impacts of DNA Testing

The science of DNA testing continues to advance as does our understanding of its applications to society. As our experiences with the impact of using DNA results increase, our comprehension of how those results can be applied to support the rule of law and human rights becomes better understood. These including freeing those who were wrongly imprisoned and empowering those who are victims of violent crimes, such as rape or the killing of a family member. Victims can become advocates for legislative changes that bring DNA testing to the forefront to hold criminals accountable and the innocent released, thus leading to fewer victims of crime while at the same time holding the government to a higher level of accountability for prosecution. While at Bode, I co-hosted multiple Victim Empowerment Conferences in Africa with Inqaba Biotechnical Industries, and this included helping with the creating of an Innocent Project in South Africa.