I am writing to commend the ADN and the incredible men and women who have come forward to publicly share their stories of sexual victimization. Thanks to all of the strong voices who told and are telling their stories so that we may better understand the many reasons that chill, if not fully prevent, any person’s desire to report a sex crime against them. They deserve enormous credit for breaking the silence around these particularly heinous crimes.
Very few sex offenses are reported. In 2015, an estimated 7,000 women in Alaska experienced sexual violence in the previous year. It is important to note that this estimate is derived from the Alaska Victimization Survey, which is a survey of experiences, and it is impossible to know how many of the incidents of sexual violence identified by survey respondents would constitute a criminal offense. What we do know is that only a fraction of reported offenses leads to a charge or conviction. In Alaska in 2015:
• 1,352 felony sex offense incidents were reported to law enforcement.
• There were 225 arrests for a felony sex offense.
• Of those 225 arrests, 159 resulted in a conviction, 119 of which included at least one conviction for a felony sex offense.
Alaska has consistently been one the worst states in the nation for its prevalence of sex offenses. In Western Alaska, the sex offense rate is more than twice the statewide average. Sex offenses disproportionately affect Alaska Natives. The lack of law enforcement in rural communities means that perpetrators of sex offenses are often not held accountable.
I recommend the following report, from which the data references in this letter were taken, to anyone wishing to know more. “Alaska Criminal Justice Commission, Sex Offenses (2019)” is available online at the Alaska Judicial Council’s website.
Stephanie Rhoades
Anchorage
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