Each year, more than 443,000 Americans experience sexual violence. For many survivors, seeking medical care in the aftermath can be overwhelming and retraumatizing. From disclosing details of an assault to sitting alone in waiting rooms, clinic visits often pose not only financial and logistical challenges, but emotional ones as well.
Visby Medical, a medical diagnostics company, and RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, have partnered to offer a solution, expanding access to sexual health testing by removing the need for in-person clinic visits.
The Safe Access Program will distribute 1,000 at-home PCR Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing kits through 20 RAINN partner programs nationwide, with a focus on rural and underserved communities. The initiative combines Visby’s rapid at-home testing technology with RAINN’s survivor support network to offer a more private approach to care.
“Most of the at-home diagnostics conversation has been about convenience—getting a result faster, skipping the doctor’s office. That matters, but that’s not what this program is about. This is about access,” Adam de la Zerda, founder and CEO of Visby, told BeautyMatter. “There are women—survivors of sexual assault in particular—who will never walk into a clinic to get tested. The barriers aren’t logistical, they’re emotional.”
Survivors face stigma, trauma, shame, cost of care, wait times, geographic limitations, and more, often causing women to delay getting tested or avoid testing altogether. The consequences can be significant: an estimated 100,000 women in the United States lose their fertility each year due to untreated STIs.
“Frustratingly, survivors too often face more barriers than options, which is why we value our partnership with Visby,” Megan Cutter, Chief of Victim Services at RAINN, told BeautyMatter. “Increasing STI-testing access while also providing a confidential testing option is not only survivor-centered, but also solution-oriented.”
The Safe Access Program uses Visby’s instrument-free, single-use PCR test, which fits in the palm of a hand and delivers results for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis—the three most common curable STIs. According to Visby Medical, the test uses the same PCR technology found in hospital laboratories and delivers results in approximately 30 minutes with more than 98% accuracy. Those who test positive can immediately connect with a third-party telehealth provider for consultation and receive a prescription for treatment, all from home.
The launch reflects growing consumer demand for more accessible healthcare options. While at-home testing has largely been marketed around convenience and accessibility, this partnership reframes the conversation around privacy, anonymity, and survivor autonomy.
“It signals something bigger for women’s health: the best care isn’t always the care you go to—sometimes it’s the care that comes to you,” said de la Zerda.
The current rollout marks only the first phase of the company’s initiative. RAINN’s broader network includes more than 1,000 local service providers nationwide, leaving room for significant expansion of the program, which will require additional support from partners, organizations, and advocates.
“We built the technology and proved it works,” de la Zerda said, noting that the test has received FDA authorization and is distributed through partners including DoorDash, Everlywell, and Quest Diagnostics. “The bottleneck now isn’t the science, it’s the reach.”
This first step bridges convenience and speed with the deeper emotional and physical barriers survivors face, positioning at-home testing not simply as a consumer health innovation, but as necessary in meeting today’s survivor-centered care. The initiative also signals a broader shift toward more personalized, private, and accessible healthcare experiences.