We have read diaries here about women having to pay for rape kits in the town of Wasilla.
DISGUSTING: Palin Billed State to LIVE AT HOME for more than Rape Kits cost!!!
Updated: Mayor Palin Charged Victims for Their Own Rape Kits
We have also discussed Trooper-gate, and the firing of Walter Monegan by Sarah Palin.
But we also need to understand that Monegan was important to the women of Alaska, because he was actively addressing, and combating the terrible crimes against women and children in that state, and had the support of many groups who are actively trying to reduce and address the crimes against women and children, in a state where these crimes statistically rank among the highest in the nation.
Take a look at the second part of this report:
Women in Alaska against Sarah Palin
This is an issue of particular significance to Native Alaskan women.
Amnesty International addressed this last April:
System faulted for high Alaska Native rape rate
One in three Alaska Native and American Indian women will be raped during their lifetime and it's the federal government's fault, an Amnesty International study reported Tuesday.
Federal authorities have created a "maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions" that slows response times and limits who can respond, according to the study. Sexual assaults and rapes on reservations and in villages sometimes get lost in "jurisdictional vacuums," allowing some perpetrators to "rape with impunity."
The study cites "shockingly high" Justice Department statistics that Native women in the United States are 2.5 times more likely to be raped than other U.S. women, Amnesty officials said.
Walter Monegan and Palin are mentioned in the report:
Walt Monegan, public safety commissioner, acknowledged there's not enough law enforcement in Alaska. He's drafting plans to create a system that will encourage villagers to become local officers and, eventually, state troopers. It will require legislative approval and should be introduced in Juneau next year, he said.
Gov. Sarah Palin hadn't seen the Amnesty report, said spokeswoman Sharon Leighow early Thursday afternoon.
Palin "has heard the message from the rural communities that they need more law enforcement" and is working with Monegan to increase law enforcement there, she said.
The State of Alaska reports these statistics:
Domestic Violence:
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injuries and homicide for American women.
50% of female homicide victims in America are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
Alaska ranks among the top 5 states in the nation for per capita rates of domestic violence.
The rate of Alaskan women being killed by a partner is 1.5 times the national average.
PRAMS data (1991-1994) revealed that 13% of women (1 out of 8) who had recently given birth had been physically hurt by someone close to them before or during pregnancy. This number does not include the emotional abuse.
Pregnant teens are at a particularly high risk of abuse during pregnancy--PRAMS data for 1991-94 indicates that 27% of teens who have just given birth have experienced domestic violence. Anchorage had a high rate of teen mothers experiencing domestic violence--32%.
Sexual Assault:
Since 1976, Alaska has ranked in the top five states in the nation for the highest rate of reported rape per capita. In 1993, Alaska ranked 1st in the nation: highest per capita incidence of rape.
Alaska has 6 times the national average of reported child sexual assault.
1 in 4 girls before the age of 12 and 1 in 6 boys before the age of 18 nationally will be sexually assaulted.
Fairbanks Health Center surveyed 419 clients over a 3-week period and found that 24% reported physical abuse in the past 6 months while 39% reported some form of sexual abuse (1995).
In 3 out of 4 reported cases, the victim knew the offender, the most commonly reported type of sexual abuse is a father who commits incest with his daughter--usually the eldest daughter.
As many as 4 out of 5 offenders were sexually assaulted as children.
One-third of incest victims' mothers were sexually abused as children.
Alaska's rape rate is 2.2 times the national average overall.
Listen to the story told by Diane Benson, who is running for office in Alaska:
Violence against women shapes Benson campaign
Alaska congressional candidate Diane Benson, a survivor of repeated sexual assaults, said Monday a major focus of her campaign will be to help other women overcome violence and indifference.She said a specialist helped with her post-traumatic stress disorder from the attacks. But other women don't have the money or access to get the help they need.
...
Benson is one of three Democrats running for Alaska Republican Don Young's U.S. House seat. She said her campaign changed a lot after a Daily News story last week in which she spoke about being raped. Benson had talked about it at justice conferences for years, and was on a panel at an Anchorage conference on fighting violence against Native women.
...
Benson said she was abused while growing up in foster care and later raped three times.
"I was raped twice as a teenager and I was raped at the age of 20," Benson said. "I was raped at knife point in a parking lot, I was raped and shot at in Fairbanks, a pellet catching me in the leg ... in all those cases for me, no one did any time for the crime, nothing happened to the perpetrators."
She said Fairbanks police believed the attacker's story when she tried to report that rape and shooting, which happened she was 18. A Ketchikan officer wanted her for himself when she reported an attempted rape there when she was a young teenager, she said.
S.T.A.R., Standing Together Against Rape is one of the programs that offers support and education to Alaska's women.
Theresa Sheppard, who works the front desk at Standing Together Against Rape, said the last time she was assaulted was in a place where she thought she would be safe for sure: the Bethel hospital.
It was almost five years ago. She was being treated for stomach problems when a drunk man somehow made it through security to her room.
Sheppard said in a later interview that many people don't know what to say. The Yup'ik culture says don't talk about it. She thinks it's time to get the words out, to acknowledge the truth, to deal with it.
"It hurts to talk about it. At least I don't cry anymore. But if it will help somebody out there to talk ..."
The Alaska Network on Domestic and Sexual Violenceconducted a public opinion poll in 2006, which higlighted some interesting data:
How Informed Are Alaskans About Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Issues?
• 49.3% think Alaska is ranked among the top states for sexual assault rates. In fact, Alaska
has the highest rates of sexual assault ("Table 5: Crime in the United State by State." FBI
Uniform Crime Report, 2005).
• 83.1% think Alaska is ranked at or near the top for rates of domestic violence. Alaska
continuously ranks in the top five states. Alaska had the highest rate of female homicides
in 2004 (Violence Policy Center, 2006).
How Does Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Affect Alaskans?
• 74.7% have experienced or know someone who has experienced domestic violence or
sexual assault.
• 93% said they would intervene if they knew someone experiencing domestic or sexual
violence, and 61.6% believe other members of the community would intervene.
What Legislative Measures do Alaskans Support?
• 81.1% did not know that funding for services providers did not increase between
1995-2005.
• 89% of those surveyed would support an increase in funding for service providers and
84.3% of registered voters surveyed would vote to increase funding.
• 90.4% support enhanced penalties for domestic violence and sexual assault perpetrators.
The selection of Sarah Palin to run as a candidate for Vice President of the United States, has focused the attention of the world on the State that she is currently governing. Perhaps she needs to answer how her views on abstinence only sex education, and her own positions about no abortion in cases of rape or incest play out in the State she is governing? A state where so many women don't have the luxury or desire to make her choices.