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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAlaska is the rape capitol of the United States
In its short history as a state, Alaska has earned an unnerving epithet: It is the rape capital of the U.S. At nearly 80 rapes per 100,000, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, Alaskas rape rate is almost three times the national average; for child sexual assault, its nearly six times. And, according to the 2010 Alaska Victimization Survey, the most comprehensive data to date, 59 percent of Alaskan women have been victims of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or both.
But those numbers, say researchers, just skim the surface, since sex crimes are generally underreported, and may be particularly underreported in Alaska for cultural reasons. Those numbers are conservative, says Ann Rausch, a program coordinator at Alaskas Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Theyre still staggering.
The causes of the violence are complex and entrenched. Government officials, law enforcement personnel, and victim advocates note the states surfeit of risk factors, from an abundance of male-dominated industries, like oil drilling and the military, to the states vast geography, with many communities that have no roads and little law enforcement. There are so many factors that tip the scale for Alaska, says Linda Chamberlain, executive director of the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project. Not the least among them: the lack of strong law enforcement presence, or support services of any kind, in remote towns like Tanana. Its easier for perpetrators to isolate their victims and not get caught. And for people not to get help.
Some believe that this fact both attracts and encourages criminals. The suspect for a recent rape in southwest hub community of Dillingham, for instance, was a white man whod just arrived from somewhere in the Lower 48 to take a job at the Wells Fargo in town. Because it happens in rural Alaska, one victim advocate cautions, doesnt mean its only rural Alaskans who are a part of it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/09/rape-culture-in-the-alaskan-wilderness/379976/
Stargleamer
(1,990 posts)Alaska and rape mentioned twice this morning in 2 different posts: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025530499
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)Interesting that this is two different sources but the same exact story.
Stargleamer
(1,990 posts)just finding it an intriguing coincidence that I rarely read about Alaska at all on DU, let alone Alaska and Sexual Abuse/Rape, and then one morning there are 2 posts about it.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)But it's something that people up here talk about a lot. As a state, you hate to be number one in this particular statistic.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)I think everyone got kind of tired of us during the 2008 election cycle and now they don't want to hear about us anymore. Our politics is still just as fascinating and frustrating as ever, our current governor is at least as evil as Scott Walker, Rick Scott, et al., and our fight against continuing as a corporate colony is heating up, but I guess we're just too far away for anyone to give a care.
leftstreet
(36,111 posts)It's the same here in the PacNW - we're boring unless something sensational happens
Everything west of the Mississippi is called California
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)Sad, too, as PacNW is the best part of the Lower 48. If I weren't living in Alaska, I'd be in Washington or Oregon. Beautiful states.
I thought it would have been kind of interesting to DU that we have a unity ticket for governor this year comprised of a moderate Republican (now officially "undeclared" and the former Democratic candidate for governor, who joined forces after the primary to defeat Sean Parnell, the evil dude I described above, since neither of them could have won in a three-man race. I posted a couple of links ... no takers.
RandySF
(59,159 posts)Palin drama aside I find it fascinating. But if I lived in the state, I'd rather be in Juneau so as to see a little more connected to civilization.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)The only way you get to Juneau is by boat or plane. At least from Anchorage you can drive more than 50 miles out of town.
sub.theory
(652 posts)My wife is from Akaska. You would not believe the stories she tells about growing up there. Things she's seen. Friends she's had. Yes, sexual abuse and domestic abuse is out of control in Alaska.
I'm not going to go into details, but this is obviously something extremely raw with me. I believe every single word of this story. I've dealt with it for years now.
surrealAmerican
(11,363 posts)I mean literally - people spending more time indoors together may increase the risk of sexual assault and what the article calls "partner violence".
Orsino
(37,428 posts)...as is every war zone.