Alaskans should use our presidential votes this year to make a statement about sexual assault.
Women and girls are more likely to be sexually abused and raped in Alaska than in any other state. In 2012, Forbes rated Fairbanks as America's most dangerous city for women and Anchorage as number two.
Rape happens on a continuum with sexual abuse and sexual harassment. The root of all three is the belief that women are less than human and don't own their bodies.
For years, I didn't understand why Alaska was the nation's rape capital. Then I started talking to my female friends about their sexual harassment experiences. I learned that many and perhaps most Alaska women carry this burden — a physical, psychic and economic tax — imposed by the self-centered sexuality of some men.
We keep the subject secret. Men who use women this way shut their mouths when they go out in public, as Donald Trump did in his infamous 2005 "Access Hollywood" video. Among fawning men on the bus, he bragged about assaulting women, but when he stepped out and saw a camera he clammed up.
Women also keep their stories among close friends. Telling the truth is too costly.
Women pay a double price for harassment, in the harassment itself and the revenge. The consequences for complaining can be brutal and the law rarely gets involved. Men make up stories and spread vicious rumors when they are turned down — it's an extremely effective defense.
Some percentage of the wage disparity between men and women must come from this sexuality tax. Women who resist harassment hurt their careers. Among some women I've spoken to, it has happened over and over again, forcing changes of jobs and losses of opportunity.
Rape is much worse and sexual abuse damages lives in terrible ways.
In our state's shame, Alaskans try pointing to demographics, with the idea that our young, transient population is bound to include more rapists. But even if that's partly true, culture remains the heart of the problem. Why do our young men feel entitled to use women's bodies?
Some women buy into these destructive beliefs, as they've said in reaction to the Trump scandal. Some female Trump supporters say all men talk that way when they're alone, bragging about abusing women.
To change this culture, we need to challenge that belief. Because it isn't true. Many men are decent and kind to women and have fulfilling emotional relationships based on mutual respect and trust.
Those who aren't capable of that kind of relationship are pathetic, not macho. We should clearly and publicly put the shame on them. Take it away from the women who are victims and give it to those broken men who deserve it.
Trump's candidacy offers a great opportunity to make that statement.
After his video came out last weekend, both Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan denounced him. That's a great start.
[Alaska Sens. Sullivan and Murkowski call on Donald Trump to drop out of presidential race]
Beyond the video, evidence is ample of Trump's pathology. He has spoken lasciviously about his own daughter at least seven times, including inviting a radio interviewer to call Ivanka Trump, "a piece of ass."
He bragged that owning beauty pageants allowed him to walk into the dressing room while women were naked. Contestants confirmed he did so and that they couldn't complain because he was the boss. He even did it at the Miss Teen USA pageant, with contestants as young as 15.
Miss Arizona of 2001 said staff urged the naked young women to "fawn over" Trump when he came in.
He hasn't kept any of this a secret, as columnist George Will recently noted. When he divorced his first wife, he told reporters one of his reasons was that he didn't like the feel of her breast implants. At his very first primary debate he made a joke of calling women "dogs," and, "pigs."
For Alaskans, the election gives us a new opportunity to make our votes count.
With our three electoral votes, Alaska has never mattered much in presidential elections. We marginalize ourselves further by relating national politics narrowly to our local needs. For decades, Alaskans have voted mostly on Alaska resource issues, throwing our weight around like a gnat. As an observer once said, we vote for sheriff while everyone else is voting for president.
This time around, that same set of considerations seemed to be playing out again. Trump supporters often said they didn't like him, but believed Hillary Clinton was worse because of her environmentalism.
Now Murkowski and Sullivan have discarded those old lines and started another discussion. They're right, because our epidemic of rape and sexual abuse is more important than oil or other resource issues.
The economy matters and Alaskans do hope for more oil in the pipeline. But jobs are less important than safety. Jobs grow our society, but it's not worth growing a sick society that dehumanizes and victimizes women and girls.
Two years ago, Gov. Sean Parnell lost re-election because he ignored the sexual abuse culture that had grown in the Alaska National Guard.
This year, let's vote "anyone but Trump." If he loses Alaska, the message will be clear that we reject the sexual abuse he has come to represent.
The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.