If you live in Alaska, chances are high that you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse. Thanks to a new report released by the Alaska Department of Public Safety, we now have a better picture of how and where those crimes happen.
The report is the product of legislation passed in 2010, which requires the department to collect statewide data on felony sex crimes and send that information to the FBI. According to the document, Western Alaska ranks worst in the state for sexual abuse — with 370 reported incidents per 100,000 residents. Anchorage ranks second with a slightly lower ratio of 223 reports. According to the Anchorage Police Department, 659 federal sex crimes were reported in Anchorage last year.
“We know that we have been up against high statistics for a long time now,” said Polly Andrews, an outreach coordinator with the Southcentral Foundation’s Family Wellness Warriors Initiative.
For the last four years, Andrews has made it her mission to try to lower the numbers through the program, which aims to create change by eliminating shame and encouraging victims to share their stories.
“I think also another piece of the harm is being told to be quiet about the harm that was being done,” Andrews explained.
Too often, victims suffer in silence — like Andrews herself, who revealed that she too was a victim. She said the Wellness Warriors program empowered her to share her story.
“Having experienced some of those things in my early childhood life, when I reached adulthood age and was able to talk about those things in a safe environment for the first time,” Andrews said.
Andrews isn’t alone. Vera Starbard, author of the play “Our Voices Will Be Heard,” said it wasn’t until later in life that she was able to talk about the abuse she experienced as a child.
“So many people wanted me to be quiet, including my own family, my extended family,” Starbard explained. “To gain that voice back was empowering.”
According to the report, the average victim of sexual abuse is a 15-year-old female. Her aggressor is, on average, a 22-year-old male, and typically they know each other.
“Sometimes when they’re that age, they’re vulnerable to convince them that they’re in love with them and they would like to marry them someday,” said Pam Karalunas of the Alaska Children’s Alliance, adding that data she’s collect from child advocacy centers statewide shows victims in the 4- to 6-year-old range as more common.
Regardless of age, Karalunas said there are some warning signs parents should watch out for, such as an adult who has no adult friends or who spends all of their time hanging out with kids.
Many times, it isn’t until years later that children feel comfortable talking about abuse, which is why it’s important to keep the conversation going. Victims of abuse are everywhere in this state.
According to the report, APD provided only statutory information for their reported incidents; victim, offender, location and weapon data were not provided.
Jennifer Castro, a spokesperson for APD, said that’s because the department’s crimes analyst was deployed overseas for a year at the time the information was being gathered.
“So we didn’t have the additional resources or time to extract the data beyond the bare minimum requirements,” Castro said in an email.
Castro said APD is working to provide additional data this year, such as victim and suspect/offender age, sex and race data.
“It appears most of the information in the report is what we often find in our cases, such as the victim knowing the suspect on some level and a majority of the offenses occurring at a residence and not a random place,” Castro noted.
For a list of statewide domestic violence and sexual abuse resources, click here.
KTVA 11’s Liz Raines can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.
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