CNN reporter investigates the incredibly high number of rapes in Alaska. Well it's about time.

You know this is something that I have revisited on this blog time and time again.

However it does not always get much attention nationally.

That has just changed as CNN columnist John Sutter has taken a deep dive into data that not only reveals the number of rapes up here, but also explores the reasons why:  

The extent of Alaska's problem with violence against women is both horrifying and clear: Alaska's per capita rate of reported rape is the highest in the country, according to 2012 FBI crime data. An estimated 80 rapes are reported in Alaska for every 100,000 people. That's nearly three times the national average of 27; and almost seven times the rate in New Jersey, the state where reported rape is least common. Those comparisons are imperfect, of course. But localized surveys in Alaska paint an even bleaker picture. A majority of women – 59% -- have experienced sexual or intimate partner violence, which includes physical violence and threats; and 37%, nearly four in 10, have been raped or sexually assaulted, according to a survey of 871 adult women in Alaska, published in 2010. 

There was a time when politicians in Alaska argued rape survivors were simply reporting rape more often in this state than elsewhere. Those arguments, however, have been largely abandoned as the scope of the violence has become clearer. If anything, the taboos surrounding rape here would suggest that the crime is underreported in Alaska, relative to other states. 

What's unclear is exactly why the violence is occurring. "That's part of the problem," said Andre Rosay, director of the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, and a national expert on this issue. "We can't answer that question. ..."

My rationalization through the years as to the reason why we have so many rapes up here has always been a combination of the fact that many rapes take place in isolated communities where help is out reach, our incredibly high rate of alcoholism, and some cultural obstacles which make it easier for men to prey on the young and helpless of both sexes.

However after his research Sutter offers his own theories:  

After talking with dozens of people in Alaska, here are the best theories I heard about why the state has the highest rape rate in the country: 

1. The history of cultural trauma, abuse, disease and dislocation imposed on Alaska Native villages has led to a cycle of despair and violent behavior. 
2. Rape is tolerated in some communities; when victims like Claire come forward, they're not believed or told to forget what happened. 
3. Offenders are too rarely punished. Of nearly 1,000 cases of sexual assault studied by the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, 46% were referred for prosecution and 22% resulted in a conviction. It's difficult to compare those rates with other states, said Andre Rosay, from the justice center. What's clear, he said, is that "the biggest hurdle really is in getting the case referred for prosecution, "especially in villages with no local law enforcement presence. Sexual assault cases are 3 ½ times as likely to be prosecuted in communities with a Village Public Safety Officer, he said. 
4. The state is so large – four times the size of California – and so sparsely populated, that it's nearly impossible to police. State troopers must fly to many remote villages, and that can take days, depending on the weather. 
5. Long winters make it easy for offenders to perpetrate the crime. 
6. There's a high rate of alcohol abuse, which doesn't cause rape, but can lower inhibitions for would-be offenders and can be used as a date-rape drug. 

If I placed a bet, it would be on a seventh reason: the silence.

Those reasons seem as reasonable as anything, and as you can see many also reflect some of my opinions.

Sutter also interviews Sean Parnelll about his Choose Respect campaign. (An attempt that I have very little confidence in, but appreciate the Governor's attempt to at least do something.)

The article is fairly long, but I encourage you to read it, ESPECIALLY if you are a resident of Alaska.

I don't know what it will take to make a significant impact on our culture of rape up here, but it is certain nothing will change if we do not try.

My visit with STAR (Standing Together Against Rape)

After last weeks rally, and the emotional response to my post about it, I found myself a little stuck. I could not seem to stop thinking about sexual assault and the incredibly high number of them in Alaska.

As a lifelong resident of Alaska I have always been aware that we led the nation in rape, as we do in alcohol consumption and incest. These are troubling statistics to be sure, but for most of us they are simply numbers with no familiar faces or emotional impact to accompany them. At least that is what we like to believe.

The facts indicate that victims of sexual assault in Alaska are invariably people that we know. They are the cashier at the local Carrs grocery store, the receptionist at the law office down the road, the Barista making your Cappuccino on your way to work, the little girl at your doors selling you Girl Scout cookies, or even the male mechanic changing your oil. The chances are very good that one, and perhaps even ALL of these people have been sexually assaulted at one time in their lives. You may never be aware of the pain and shame that they carry with them as they live their lives, raise their children, and struggle to trust the people in their lives, but that does not mean it does not exist.

So I decided to visit the offices of STAR in midtown Anchorage, to get an education about just how prevalent this problem is in our community.

During my visit to STAR, talking with Program Director Keeley Olson and Kirsten Strolle, I learned that 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 6 men, in Alaska will be the victim of a sexual assault in their lifetime. (This number includes abuse which happens in childhood.) Just this year alone, from January to September there have been 202 incidents reported to SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) and 760 incidents of assault against children. And those are only the ones that have been reported in Anchorage. Assaults that happen in other parts of the state are reported to other STAR offices, if they are reported at all.

These numbers are dramatically larger than the national numbers, which have 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men suffering sexual assault.

This disparity was so shocking that, of course, I wanted to know why.

Since we also have a high incidence of alcoholism, I asked how many of these assaults were alcohol related. I was reminded that being drunk was no excuse for assault, which of course I knew, but I suppose I was also looking for something handy to blame for this terrible crime. I expected that alcohol would be a factor in the majority of these cases, but no. I was told it was a factor in only about half of these incidents, which means that half of these cowards were in complete control of their faculties when they decided to rape a child or assault a family member or friend. (Did I mention that almost ALL sexual assaults are done by somebody the victim knows?)

I also learned that the majority of victims of adult sexual assault had been victimized as children, that the predators are often witnesses of domestic abuse as children, and that when the PFD(Permanent Fund Dividend) checks are issued the number of assaults double in size.

As I absorbed these heartrending statistics I was confronted by even more discouraging information.

Apparently even after a woman, man, or child, reports a sexual assault, after they have had to recount the painful story to a STAR employee, and again to an Anchorage police officer, and then undergone an intrusive and dehumanizing medical exam to gather evidence, it then gets sent to a lab out of state. And at this lab, believe it or not, it can take YEARS for the sample to be processed.

Until this is processed there will be NO prison time for the assailant, without witnesses or a confession. So for years the victim may still be living in close proximity, or even in the same house, as their attacker unless they have been removed by the state (in the case of children) or they have found another place to live. And in a village of 500 or less, how far away can you really get from the person who raped you?

And people wonder why there are so many unreported cases of sexual assault up here.

I asked if the ethnicity of the victims determined if they were any more likely to be victimized sexually and was told that the majority were Alaskan native women and children. I was also informed that while it was usual for most races to be assaulted by a member of their OWN race (African Americans attacking fellow African Americans, Caucasians assaulting Caucasians, Asians with Asians, etc. etc.), that native women in Alaska were perpetrated against by ALL ethnicity's. It appears that something about the often shy and passive nature of the native women singles them out for victimization.

As I drove away from the STAR offices on Fireweed Lane, I found myself taking inventory of the number of women and children I have met in my life that I knew had been victims of sexual assault. When I stopped to think about it the number was staggering. I came to realize that at least a dozen women that I knew very well had been the victim of rape and that I also knew over 30 individuals who had been assaulted as children. With that sudden realization it was clear that the "one in three women" statistic was certainly not an exaggeration.

I would like to believe that the situation in Alaska was improving, however another thing that I learned to my dismay is that 2009 is headed toward becoming another record year for sexual assault.

STAR is doing a wonderful job of educating children in our local schools and advocating for the victims of sexual assault but they are underfunded and often overwhelmed with the shear number of people who request their services.

If you would like to help by donating to them then you can do so by clicking here. If you live in Anchorage and would like to donate your time instead (You can do so from the comfort of your own home)then click here. If you would like to learn more information concerning sexual assault in general then please click here.

It only takes one concerned person willing to reach out and hold the hand of a victim who has been stripped of their dignity, and left feeling empty and exposed to the world, which helps that person begin their long journey toward healing. Think of how many shattered lives we could repair if each of us took a moment to open our arms to somebody who has suffered at the hands of predator.