New Mexico has more than 5,000 rape kits still waiting to be tested. Many victims of sexual assault are frustrated with the backlog, saying the system has failed them. But there’s also a lot of anxiety.

What happens after these kits are tested? How will that affect the lives of thousands of people who had their kit done years ago?

Jessi Leil says she was raped five years ago.

“It makes me feel like that I don't matter,” Leil said. “Like crimes against my body do not matter in the larger scheme of crimes in this state.”

She’ll never forget how hard it was to tell her story.

“It was a camping trip with a bunch of friends,” Leil said. “So I had a few of my friends tell me that it was absolute bulls--- that that happened. And they didn't believe me.”

That experience convinced Leil not to proceed with the rape kit.

“If I had to go through trial, even though it's five years after the fact,” Leil said, “it would still be a very traumatic experience for me.”

While Leil believes all rape kits should be tested, she worries about other victims and what they’ll go through.

“We believe there needs to be a chance to opt out of the process,” said May Sagbakken, with the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico. “Especially if they have an incident of sexual assault or rape years ago, they now have a normal life. They've healed.”

They may not want their kits tested, thinking if a suspect is identified, they’ll have to relive it all again.

“Just by knocking on the door,” said Connie Monohan, with New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. “All those feelings are resurrected again in a very rude way.”

But at the same time, Monahan and others say resolving the test kit backlog is critical.

“We do need to know if there are serial rapists involved,” said Sagbakken.

“Repeat offenders that we're not able to accurately track what their offences are,” Leil said.

New Mexico is not the only state with thousands of untested rape kits, but there is hope.

Colorado had a backlog of more than 3,500 kits, but just today it announced they’ve all been tested.