Alaska News

By the numbers

Suicide Suicide rate for Alaska Natives, annual average: 39 per 100,000

Suicide rate for non-Native Alaskans, average: 16

Overall rate for Alaska, average: 21

For the U.S.: 11

Sexual Abuse

Cases alleging sexual abuse of a minor investigated by Alaska State Troopers, 2008: 264

Cases in which charges were filed: 76

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Cases investigated by Anchorage Police: 370

The following statistics come from the state Office of Children's Services and reflect only those cases that agency has contact with.

Number of Alaska child sexual abuse victims (confirmed), annual average: 155

Number who are Alaska Native: 63

Percentage of Alaska child sex abuse victims who are Native: 41

Percentage of Alaska children and teens who are Native: 23

Sexual assault

Number of sexual assaults reported in Anchorage in 2007: 335

Percentage of victims in Anchorage who are Alaska Native: 45.

Percentage of Anchorage population that is Native: 8.

Alaska's ranking for rape, with 1 being the highest rate: 1

Domestic violence

Percentage of Alaska Natives who say they've been physically abused by a partner sometime in their life: 33

Percentage of non-Natives who say that: 22

Sources: Numbers are the most recent available. Suicide numbers came from the state Bureau of Vital Statistics and represent a 10-year, age-adjusted average from 1998 through 2007; for the United States, it's a nine-year average ending in 2006. Child sexual abuse numbers from the state Office of Children's Services represent the average for 2006-2008. Anchorage sexual assault figures came from the municipal Department of Health and Human Services, which relied on police data for a report published in April. Alaska's rape ranking was as of 2007, according to the same report. Physical abuse figures were as of 2005 and come from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, as presented by the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project. Population figures come from the state Department of Labor.

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