Gail Frances Gardner | 2022 National Crime Victims' Service Awards
Gail Gardner is a survivor who experienced a home invasion and rape by an unknown perpetrator as a single mom in 1988. For many years, she waited to learn her perpetrator’s identity. As a life-long advocate for victims of random or familial sexual attacks, Ms. Gardner is the namesake of Florida’s Gail’s Law, which requires rape kit tracking via a database for victims to be kept aware of the status of their case evidence throughout the testing process. Florida cleared a backlog of 8,000 unprocessed kits in 2019. State law now requires the kits to be submitted for testing within 30 days and that laboratories process them within 120 days.
Her dedication has made a difference in the lives of many sexual assault survivors, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Gail Gardner received the Special Courage Award. Visit the OVC Gallery for more information about her work to support victims of crime.
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