Opinion: Alaska must confront the huge problem of violence against women

Has been updated: Four by the time release date: Four by the time

Multiple Alaskans have contacted our law firm because they have experienced sexual assault and sexual abuse by powerful people, including doctors, famous athletes, elected officials, and heads of state agencies. Seeking legal advice or representation. Survivors have the right to file criminal charges and civil lawsuits arising from sexual assault. Victims of sexual assault should seek an attorney to help them report and evaluate their legal options.

Even when survivors report and document the gruesome details of a serial rapist’s crimes, most cases result in no criminal investigation, prosecution, or conviction. Significant power imbalances exist between perpetrators and survivors, even, or perhaps especially, when the alleged perpetrator is a public figure. The alleged rapists in these cases have more money, higher status, better intentions, and the ability to manipulate the system than their victims. Victims of sexual assault by public figures seeking justice face significant structural and personal barriers to receiving justice and recovering from the trauma of sexual assault.

Alaska news is filled with reports of people in power accused of sexual assault and abuse. Very few of these powerful people have been indicted or sued.

Recent news articles reporting multiple allegations of sexual assault by multiple victims point to a larger problem in the state: a lack of law enforcement investigation and prosecution of sexual assault, sexual assault, and crimes against women. ing.

Alaska leads the nation in sexual violence, but only a small percentage of reported sexual assaults result in prosecutions. It is no secret that law enforcement agencies do not treat sexual assault in the same way as other violent crimes. Survivors in Alaska know that if they report their assault and go through the invasive and traumatic experience of sexual assault testing, the chances of prosecution or conviction are slim to none. There is.

It is sexist that Alaska law enforcement does not investigate and prosecute crimes against women at the same rate as other violent crimes. Victims can safely report sexual violence and have the right to expect that law enforcement will investigate their reports. Prosecutors should prosecute crimes of sexual violence at the same rate as other violent crimes that are reported. Alaskans must continue to work to stop sexual violence and advocate for equal treatment of crimes against women, especially when the alleged perpetrator is a powerful person.

caitlin shortell I am an attorney based in Anchorage.

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