A woman who was raped in 1993 has revealed that authorities failed to get her rape kit tested for 10 years.

When Natasha Alexenko was just 20-years-old, a man approached her from behind, pressed a gun to her back and told her he would 'blow' her 'brains out' if she screamed for help.

He then led her to an empty stairwell in her apartment building in Morningside Heighs where he sexually assaulted her at gunpoint.

Brave: Rape survivor Natasha Alexenko, 45, was assaulted at gunpoint in the stairwell of her New York apartment building in 1993 when she was 20-years-old

Aftermath: In the aftermath of her rape, Natasha had to wait 10 years before the authorities tested her rape kit, pictured in 2011 promoting a HBO documentary about her experience

Despite reporting the incident to the police and undergoing a medical examination, Natasha's rape kit containing vital DNA evidence that would help convict the assailant was not tested and wouldn't be tested for nearly a decade.

Speaking to the New York Post, the 45-year-old revealed that she was 'relieved' when she eventually received the call from the New York County district attorney's office to tell her the kit had finally been tested.

'I was like, "This is great, it's moving forward — I can't believe it after all these years",' she said.

However, in the aftermath, she admitted that she started to question why it had taken the authorities so long to process the evidence.

'It just doesn’t make sense,' she said.

'Why would you put someone through this very invasive, whole-body exam, which is traumatizing in itself, take their rape kit and just let it sit there?'

The Ontario native who had moved to New York to study filmmaking at the New York Institute of Technology also shared that she soon left the city to return home to her family, however she turned to alcohol to try and numb the pain of her attack.

'I just felt so much grief. I blamed myself for not being able to help catch this man who was still out there, probably hurting other people,' she added.

The DNA evidence was finally matched to a suspect in 2007, and in 2008 her rapist Victor Rondon was found guilty of eight counts of violent assault, including burglary, robbery, two counts of rape, sodomy and sexual abuse.

He is currently serving a 44-to-107-year sentence.

'I was just grateful that he was put behind bars,' she said.

Speaking out: In 2011 she founded Natasha's Justice Project, a nonprofit organization to try and get rid of rape kit backlogs in every state, pictured in 2014 at a news conference in NYC

Advocate: Natasha pictured in 2014 with actress Marissa Hargitay, founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, following the announcement of $35 million in funding for rape kit testing in NYC

However, the trial took its toll and Natasha fainted when she saw her attacker during his trial.

'My body just shut down. It wasn’t just that I was remembering stuff; it was like I was there [at the scene of the crime again].'

Natasha's rape kits was just one of the hundreds of thousands that remained untested for genetic evidence that could identify, or eliminate, a suspect.

So in 2011, Natasha founded Natasha's Justice Project, a nonprofit organization to try and get rid of rape kit backlogs in every state, and implement a method to test every kit submitted within 30 days.

Self help: Natasha has penned a memoir about her attack and experience of trying to get justic and hopes to inspire and help other victims of sexual assault

She has also appeared in a HBO documentary called Sex Crimes Unit

In November 2014, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced that he had pledged as much as $35 million to help eliminate a backlog that has long troubled authorities, victims and lawmakers.

Speaking at the news conference when the announcement was made, Natasha praised the move but highlighted that 'each rape kit represents a person whose body is a crime scene.'

The news conference was also attended by actress Marissa Hargitay, the founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, a group to 'heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse'.

Since 2014, New York is now one of just a few US cities that actually has a system in place for processing rape kits, however a recent report by the city’s Department of Investigation found that the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit had only 67 detectives working on 5,600 sex crimes.

And a USA Today investigation in 2015 found that there were at least 70,000 unprocessed rape kits in the US.

Natasha has also penned A Survivor's Journey: From Victim to Advocate, a memoir which documents her attack and experience of trying to get justice and hopes her story will help other sexual assault victims.

'There’s been such a shift and I think it’s because there have been so many survivors who have come forward,' Natasha said.

'There are so many amazing people who are fighting so hard, and this book really is to express my gratitude to them.'