Re: Rural Alaska Steeped in Sexual Violence
- From: "nimue" <cup_o_cakes@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:28:46 -0500
Michael Snyder wrote:
"Forever" <lettuce@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:47A00988.89637318@xxxxxxxxxxxx
OFF TOPIC!
TINY DANCER!
really, really gets to you because you can't handle women who dare to speak
about anything, much less the FACT that certain men commit violence against
women. It's a fact, one of many, but a fact all the same and you just can't
handle seeing your secret fantasies spread all over the newspaper like that,
I guess.
... SPECIAL!
Yes, she is. Tiny's especially amazing and I really like her.
tiny dancer wrote:
Rural Alaska Steeped in Sexual Violence
By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press Writer
Posted: Today at 10:21 p.m.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The state has long suffered the highest sexual
assault rate in the nation, and the problem is worst in rural
areas, according to a report released Tuesday.
The numbers are unacceptable, troopers said at a news conference
Tuesday detailing the study.
"Each of us has a role in ending sexual violence in Alaska," said
trooper Col. Audie Holloway. "We need to think into the future."
In nearly 1,000 cases studied over two years, the average age of
victims was 16, while the average age of those accused was 29. In
four out of five cases, the suspects were relatives, friends or
acquaintances.
Overall, 89 percent of the victims were female. One out of three
cases were reported more than a month after the abuse occurred,
leaving evidence hard to collect.
The study, conducted by the University of Alaska Anchorage's
Justice Center, looked at 989 sexual assault cases reported to
state troopers in 2003 and 2004. Researchers did not look at cases
reported in the same period to municipal police departments,
including those in Anchorage or other urban centers that account
for 80 percent of Alaska's 670,000 residents.
Overall, 46 percent of the cases were referred for prosecution. Of
those 452 cases, about half resulted in convictions.
The study is believed to represent only a fraction of abuse actually
committed in trooper jurisdiction. Still, Alaska has had the
nation's highest per capita occurrence since 1995. According to
statewide figures for 2003 and 2004 alone, there were 89 rapes per
100,000 people, almost three times the national average of 32 per
100,000, said Andre Rosay, the Justice Center's interim director.
"There are a lot of excellent programs here, so it could be
reporting rates are higher here. We don't know, though," he said.
"But even if there are higher reporting rates, our rates far
surpass those in the lower 48."
Just less than half the cases studied occurred in the troopers'
immense, sparsely populated western area known as the C Detachment.
The largely native region contains a third of the state's land
mass, stretching from Kotzebue in the north to the Aleutian Islands
chain. With few communities connected by roads, about 50 troopers
working in the region must fly to villages to respond to crimes
beyond the scope of village safety officers.
Capt. Steve Arlow, commander of the detachment, said the numbers
were not surprising. Sexual assaults account for the bulk of work
done by troopers, he said.
"Our troopers are out there dealing with it every day," he said.
Michelle DeWitt, director of the Tundra Women's Coalition, said
that sexual crimes are about power and that many in the region feel
increasingly powerless as native cultures are undermined.
The coalition runs a regional emergency shelter in Bethel, a
commercial hub for the western region.
Another huge problem, she said, arises when the accused is known to
the victim. That dilemma is intensified for those living in tiny
villages.
"When a victim knows who harmed them and they live in a small
community where everyone is related, they know that if they report
that they were harmed, then other community members will be
impacted," DeWitt said. "Knowing that someone may be removed from
the community makes it very difficult to talk about it."
http://wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/2371470/
.
- References:
- Rural Alaska Steeped in Sexual Violence
- From: tiny dancer
- Re: Rural Alaska Steeped in Sexual Violence
- From: Forever
- Re: Rural Alaska Steeped in Sexual Violence
- From: Michael Snyder
- Rural Alaska Steeped in Sexual Violence
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