Adverts for DNA self-swab kits banned as misleading

Adverts for DNA self-swab kits banned as misleadingJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleFrancesca OsborneBBC West InvestigationsBBCThis kit contains a swab, a vial of water, a plastic tube and instructions A company issuing self-swab DNA testing kits to sexual assault victims has had online posts banned for containing misleading information. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Enough's website, LinkedIn post and GoFundMe page made unproven claims about how evidence from their kits could be used in court and how many women were raped in the UK each year.Sir Martin Narey, the former head of the Prison and Probation Services in England and Wales who brought the complaint about the adverts, said: "I thought they were frightening young women and terrifying their parents by exaggerating the likelihood of being raped." Miles Lockwood from the ASA said the posts were banned for lacking evidence. In a statement, Enough said it respected the ASA's ruling and had updated its wording. Narey said he had initially supported Enough with the launch of a Dads for Daughters group, which encouraged fathers to back their project.However, he said he had started to become increasingly concerned the company may be "exaggerating" claims.The ASA found the website made claims that added to the impression that the kits would lead to securing the prosecution of perpetrators if used and handled properlyEnough, which launched in Bristol, said a woman was twice as likely to be raped as diagnosed with cancer and inflated figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the number of rapes that happen in the UK each year. ONS figures show 71,227 rapes were reported to the police in 2024, but Enough said the figure could be substantially higher based on the number of incidents not reported."The thing that worried me much more than that were the claims about the likely admissibility of the self-swab kits," said Narey."...