I didnt want to acknowledge the fact that i went through it and that it was called rape. An indepth report on a shocking therapy forcing victims to relife the terror. The battle for the keystone pipeline, pitching the future of a farm against an alliance of cowboys and indians, and their campaign to save a way of life. Its not just an infrastructure project. They are messing with folks legacies. Into the worlds driest desert and reaching for the stars. In a place where theres no sign of life, a search for evidence for what it might be like way out there. Good evening, thanks for joining us. Nationwide, 400,000 assault kits, containing evidence of rape, sit untested. That means 400,000 victims are denied justice and the rapists are free to attack others. Lori jane gliha has this america tonight investigation. Honestly the Law Enforcement was worse than the rape. Reporter it would be more than a decade before this victim was taken seriously. I was interrogated as if i was a suspect. They kept saying you know you can go to gaol for making this up. You are not just doing this for attention. In 2003 a stranger attacked her in her tennessee home. She was 16. You were 16, they were telling you are you sure you were raped . How frustrating was that. It was confusing. Did you feel there was a moment where someone believed what happened to you . No. Despite the investigators, and a threat by the perpetrator that he would come back and attack her. She under went a rape kit. They are important tools. The body of a rape victim is a crime scene. Fluids, hairs, skin can be tested for d. N. A. , leading to identification. He came up from behind me, knocked me down. Theres no way i could identify him. The only chance was d. N. A. She assumed the kit would be dealt with quickly. Instead it sat on a shelf for nine years. Officials cant explain why. If my family hadnt believed me, i i dont know what i dont want to think about what i would have done. This is her First National television interview. She says she no longer wants to be known as a jane dow. You go through this horrible sexual assault. They integrate you, make you feel like interrogate you, make you feel like you are lying. They accused me of lying. And dont call you back. I was on edge. I didnt know if the man had a ki mask on, i couldnt protect myself. He could be anywhere. In 2012 the kit was tested. That man was identified as her rapist. He would admit to raping six more women and he was sentenced to 178 years in prison. Had the rape kit been tested right away, there was a chance he could have been identified before raping other women. Thats why a Law Enforcement database comes into play. Once an attackers d. N. A. Is extracted, police look for a catch in codize. If one is not found, having the d. N. A. On file is important. We will cut one swab. If an attackers d. N. A. Turns up at a crime scene in the future the person will be caught. Less than a year after she was raped, police were called to this hotel. In a room he was caught redhanded with a 16yearold girl. She appeared to be drugged. Oliano admitted to having sex with her. Police recovered bloodsustained sheets, took saliva and took a rape kit, all that could have been tested for d. N. A. But it wasnt. What do you think about the fact that he slipped through the cracks . Im not surprised, given the way Law Enforcement reacted to my report. It was only by accident that he was linked to rape. Her mother happened to see a report. Thinking it may be her attacker. They called police. They decided to test her kit, finally. At what point did you find outed your rape kit was never tested. When i call and that person said theyd send in the kit to be tested. What were the words . They said, were sending it in now. It was not just her kit that sat untested. The city announced it failed to test more than 12,000 rape kits, some dating back to the 1980s. Natasha is also a rape survivor. 1993, new york city, raped by a stranger at gun point. She believes a reason kids are untested is because of the mindset of many in Law Enforcement. Rape is a crime that is treated differently, its the only crime where police make a judgment call as to whether or not they believe the victim. Untested kids are not just a problem in memphis. Police in detroit found 11,000 untested kits. In cleveland, 4,000. In phoenix 3,000. Nationwide the Justice Department estimates there are 400,000 uptested kits. When you brought the kid out. Thats a human being. Alex has an organization working to clear the backlog. Some are sent here. This lab is the biggest private processor of rape kits this the united states. The data doesnt lie. New york city has a policy where they test a rape kit, and according to the fbi, new york city has a 70 arrest rate because they test every kit. The rest of the nation has a 24 arrest rate. The backlog came to light when a local tv station asked questions. At first, the city said there were only 2,000 uptested kits before upping the total to more than 12,000. We had enough false starts. That man has been the mayor of memphis, and took the lead on speaking on behalf of the city and the police. What was your rehabilitation when you discovered there was 12,000 plus cases not tested . I dont know how to scribe it. It was utter it was frustration. How sure are you that the number put out now, the number of untested kits will stay where it is, and you are not going to find thousands in the coming months. You can never say we are positively certain. Based on the time that we have been in this inquiry, im reasonably certain thats as far as it will go. He says he cannot speak about the specifics of the case because of lawsuits against the city. The city has lauxed an investigation launched an investigation into why all the kits sat untested. The city has a methodical plan for testing the kits and prosecuting the crimes that the city discovers. The kits will be tested. According to the major the city tested 500 kits, resulting in 19 criminal cases and 14 indictments indictments. If you can give a message to victims that have been discovered and yet to be discovered. How will you put them at ease to make sure they are treated fairly. Theres no way in the world i will stand here and tell them you shouldnt feel that way. All i can say is this built up. It will take a while to get it done, and done right. Thats what we are committed to. If any victim wants a weekly report, they are going to get it. All they have to do is ask. Megan intends to hold the mayor to his word. She has become a shadow, pressing him on the issue when of she can. She lobbied the state of tennessee for legislation requiring the timely processing of rape kits. You start to wonder is rape really illegal. Apparently it was not a big deal for the nine years oliana was on the loose. The law says its il, but in practice if nothing is done is it illegal. Lori jane gliha continues her ipp depth reporting. This time with other indepth reporting this time with other survivors, and treatment that offers hope for recovering. Its difficult to watch. A 5year study finds its making a difference. Al Jazeera America was given access to these usually private therapy sessions. The inside of my leg. If felt weird. He was touching me. Reporter this is a type of therapy for rape victims. Like i landed in garbage. It requires to hear the victim recount the horrific experience leaving her wondering whether shed live to see another day. I felt i was in immediate danger. It. It may seem cruel at first glance. You can do this. Ci ci i know its hard. In this video shes 17 and remembering skipping school to hang out with her then boyfriend. He took her to ace friends house his friends house where another man she had never metaphorsed himself met, forced himself on her. After the situation i thought it was my fault. I didnt want to, like, i didnt want to make it a big deal because i didnt fight back. I should have fought. I should have done more. She had been an outgoing teenager, a dancer who loved school and snapping pictures with her friends, until the tram of her rape took over her life. You feel like a walking zombie, like you are walking through life, and not able to look at my parents. Not wanting to hug anyone. I couldnt stand in a line at a store. If someone was behind me, i was uncomfortable. I couldnt look at my dad because he had the same look that the guy had, the same look that my dad has. What does that do in your heart knowing when you couldnt look at your dad . When i looked at him, i looked at him in disgust. She stopped dancing. I mean, she danced. She lost her joy. She became like a shell. I wanted it see her dance. I knew she had to fight back, she needed to take her life back. Every day activities like going to school became almost impossible. Her mother never knew what could trigger an emotional breakdown. She started home schooling her daughter. I wanted to protect her. I always wanted to protect her. I felt i had failed. She was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, and tried various types of therapy. Van eata contacted a Rape Crisis Center where she met a clinical psychologist at the university of pennsylvania, who recruited ta hera for a groundbreaking study. She would undergo prolonged expercentage therapy. I felt dirty. Touching me. I cant do anything. We have the adolescent tell the story of what happened to them, repeatedly, over and over, throughout sessions. It was kind of scary because i did not want to talk about it. I didnt want to acknowledge the fact that i went through it. I didnt want to the acknowledge that it was called rape. I dont think i wanted to close my eyes, you know, it made it all too real. The therapy required her to face here fears head on. I didnt want to be in a room with the doors open at night. I couldnt sleep. The doctor told her to sleep with her door open and visit places that made her anxious, like the house she was raped, not far from her own home. Could you have done this without the therapy . Probably not. I hated walking by myself. If i can hand her. Prolonged exporm therapy exporm therapy was developed by dr edthat foyer. She teaches her methods to doctors around the world during seminars like this. Well push. Gentry. Its used by the department of veteran affairs by servicemen and women that suffer from ptsd it is successful for most adults. 85 are helped. Theres 1015 that are not helped. We know from studies that we have done, that nobody got worse. The study that tahira was part of found that it helped teenagers. Publishing in the American Medical Association journalist it found 83 were cured, compared with 54 that received traditional support of counselling. I was outside bent over a car and he was having sex from behind. America tonight observed this womans session. Typically there would be 16 sessions before the patient isnt it have ptsd. The patient asked for her identity to be protected. She was a teenager when raped and is now 25. The doctor has been working with her. What do you think will be the hardest thing for her to overcome . I think anger. She has a hard time letting herself feel angry with people. I think letting herself feel the emotions. In the first session she talks about the rape in a mechanical way. Hes standing there, staring at me, and in a panic saying, no, no. My friend are out there, no. Each time the patient repeats the story her anxiety decreases. Her sessions are recorded and she has to listen to herself recounting her rape every day. How hopeful are you that this patient will be successful with this type of treatment . I am extremely hopeful. Im absolutely confident. Several weeks later we went back to observe another session. This time the patient was pushed to reveal more yask details graphic details about the reach. I co physically hear it, the friction. I could hear him heavy breathing and hear me being pushed against this car. The patient says its getting easier, and shes learning to reconnect with her emotions. Is there anything you say it not working for you in this type of therapy so far . So far, to be hon of the. Honest, there hasnt been a negative feeling towards the tlempy. Obviously theres a feeling of uncomfortness that comes with the therapy. That means its working. Where do you want to be, ultimately . Where do i want to be . I want to be emotionally stable. Not just being controlled by my ptsd. Its a freedom this girl has achieved. Able to smile again and laugh, and even dance. Shes dancing. She took my breath away. She took her life back. This move is like washing the shame, the fear off. And in this moment i claimed myself as not being a victim, but i am a rape survivor. [ music our reporting from lori jane gliha. Coming up next here checked out of the Beverly Hills hotel. Why some of hollywoods biggest names are behind a campaign because of laws imposed miles away. Psh psh big screen protest, pitting hollywoods biggest names against an international power. In the middle a Beverly Hills landmark and behind the Scenes Police headquarters and a plot twist the stars are probably not aware of from Beverly Hills, michael oku with the story. Reporter its a Beautiful Day in Beverly Hills. Shoppers, tourists, business as usual. Not at the bulls hotel. Nobody is going to set foot in ta damn hotel until he is out of it. It began with a tweet from Ellen Degeneres urging followers to stay away from the iconic hotel and others owned by the sultan of brunei. Why . The sultan, rule are of a tine which but oil tiny but oilrich country announce a penal code making adultery and gay sex punishable by sex. Brunei is the first country to adopt sharia law. Social media spread the message. A week and a half ago we saw small reports in online media that the subtlian of bruin sultan of brunei announced that hed move ahead with imposing taliban laws. Kathie spiller is the executive director of the miss magazine. We were scheduled to hold a big annual event for global womens rights at the Beverly Hills within a week. When we verified that is what was happening, we decided to pull the event away from the hotel. How could we hold a global womens rights awards at a hotel, whose owner was about to impose these taliban laws. A dozen organizations followed suit. We hope to draw attention to this, people go okay, maybe i will not hold my event until they change it. The hotel lost 1. 5 million in bookings. In a packed meeting the Beverly Hills council pushed the issue further. Ideally the brunei government will repeal these horrific laws. If it doesnt happen, we want the hotel under different ownership so the long and rich history in Beverly Hills will not be tarnished by the brunei government action. [ clapping ] clearly the campaign to boycott the bls hotel has gone viral. What few supporters may realise is that the real story begins here at the hotel belair. In a battle over workers rights, not gay rights. Reporter the sultan of brunei owns this hotel too. In 2009 he and his company shut it down for renovations and laid off nearly 300 union workers. When the hotel reopened, they highed new people who hired new people that didnt belong to a Union Raising the ire of an Organization Called unite here. We represent 20,000 hospitality workers in l. A. And orange country, lowwage workers from house keepers, books, bellman, et cetera. Lee is a labour organiser. Its customary if a hotel shuts down, that they make an agreement with the workers there to come back to work when it reopens. After all, these are the dedicated staff that know the guests and work there for decades. The sultans company did the same thing at the Beverly Hills hotel, effectively busting the youpt at union at both luxury hotels. We tried to spread the world, ignite outrage. The union called for a boycott of the hotel belair. Our message was not resonating with folks. The struggle of lowwage workers are not always frontpage news. I work at the hotel belair for five years. I was in the rest room as a busser. An immigrant with two young children, he worked fulltime at the hotel belair and held down a parttime job. I felt that they were using me like when you throw the furpt to the furniture to the trash. After being laid off. He lost his apartment. We now the sultan was antiworker and we looked into what he was about. At that time we found in his country where he is a monarch, it is ilto be gay. Sensing an opportunity, sheltons union sought help from a cool egg up north in colleague up north in san francisco. Ki kiev is an organiser but is founder of the aides memorial quilt and has 10,000 facebook friend and followers. I was looking at news feeds and saw a story about an unofficial condemning a law proposed in brunei. I thought, thats that guy. I thought that now people would be in an uproar because hes calling for gay people to be stoned to death. Adulterers to be killed. Joan started to post about bruneis antigay laws on his facebook page. Every morning i get up and see how this has spread. Boy, its amazing. Thanks to social media the message spread like wildfire. The union got its boycott, even if it had to wrap in a different cause to get results. In an age where one communicates in 140 characters or less. You have to find the phrase, the words that jump out and pull people into the story. The boycott has been so successful that the c. E. O. Of the sultans company flew in from london to handle the pr disaster and declined an interview with america tonight, but told the city council that brunei was upfairly singled out. These laws exist in other countries around the world, where those punishments that we spoke about are already enacted. I see no action being taken by this council in refuting those laws in those countries. Hundreds of employees, he argued, would be the true victims. Im here to talk to you and put an impassioned plea on behalf of 650 employees, and their families of the Beverly Hills hole. The actions that hotel. The actions that you take have to be seriously considered, because theyll affect the livelihoods of these people. As for pablo, he doesnt want the Hotel Employees to suffer either. Its important that people hear what happened, not just because they are doing this with a lesbian or gay. Its because he not report the employees. Hes been looking for a fulltime job for three years. Up next here a state divided extending the keystone xl pipeline out on the plains. Why those who depend on the land have strong and differing views about its building. You are probably heard about the fig