Parnell: Businesses can play role in fighting violence

In a speech to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Parnell said victims bear the ultimate cost of violence. But he cited national statistics showing that domestic violence costs victims and employers nearly $19 billion a year, including such things as lost productivity, sick leave, unexplained absences and medical care.

The problem "has seeped inside our offices. Domestic violence and sexual assault are invisible marauders in the workplace," he said. "They hurt employees, families, collective productivity and the prosperity of our communities and businesses."

Hands shot up in the convention hall in which he spoke when he asked who knew someone who had been affected by the violence.

"That speaks volumes, right there," he said.

He urged business leaders to take actions including putting domestic violence and victim resource pamphlets in new employee packets; ensuring employees aren't disciplined or fired for fear their abusers will bring violence to the workplace; participating in "Choose Respect" rallies and marches, expected to be held in at least 40 communities next month; and to speak out on the issue.

Parnell has made cracking down on the violence a focus of his administration. It's an effort with broad support from lawmakers, and Parnell believes that if Alaskans unite behind the cause, the problem -- considered at epidemic levels -- could be stopped within a generation.

A survey recently released by the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center found that nearly 60 percent of women asked said they had been sexually or physically assaulted or threatened during their lifetime. The findings of the survey, limited to English-speaking women in households with at least one phone, were considered conservative.

"I hope this makes you uncomfortable," Parnell said, "because it does me."

The violence isn't limited to women or girls. He said 30 percent of the children seen at child advocacy centers, which provide sexual and physical abuse evaluations, are boys.

Monica Lettner said she was speaking publicly for the first time about her rape and was "completely terrified" that audience members would look at her differently after she sat back down or avoid her gaze altogether.

But she wanted to give voice to those who couldn't speak about their assaults. She said that until victims and survivors talk about their experiences, it will be impossible to get the full scope of the problem.

She said she felt "honored" that the lunchtime audience, rapt in their attention as she spoke, looked at her as she talked and listened to what she was saying.