Weather
Anchorage VS National: Do Rape Statistics Match?A new report from the White House Council On Women And Girls claims nationwide, reported rape rates have declined and remained stable in recent years.A new report from the White House Council On Women And Girls claims nationwide, reported rape rates have declined and remained stable in recent years. For years Alaska has had the highest incidents of rape and sexual assault in the nation. Standing Together Against Rape officials said despite what may be happening elsewhere, they believe Alaska's numbers are getting worse, not better. " It depends on what statistic you’re looking at and how the statistic defines rape," said Nancy Haag, Executive Director for STAR. Numbers may be misleading when it comes to statistics, because most stats carry their own definition, like the numbers used by the FBI. "I know for the FBI’s Uniform Reporting Program, rape is very narrowly defined. It's carnal knowledge between a man and a woman; our state defines it broader than that. The FBI would exclude rape against children, it would exclude rape against consent, if somebody was unconscious for any reason," said Haag. The FBI's Uniform Reporting Program also doesn't cover cases of homosexual rape and other violent sexual encounters. "That leaves out quite a lot of the people we serve, not only at STAR but through the Municipality Law Enforcement Office," Haag said. According to the Women In America White House numbers, the rate of rape against females 12 years old or older, as defined be the National Crime Victimization Survey, declined by about 60 percent from 3.2 per 1,000 females in 1993 to 1.3 per 1,0000 in 2000. Since 2000 the report claims rape rates have remained at these lower levels. " I think reporting has increased and I think the investigation of crimes have increased, and what I’ve seen even at the prosecutor’s office [is] that there are more people going to trial, so I would have a hard time believing that in this state," said Haag. Unlike the FBI, the White House report uses numbers from the NCVS and its definition of rape is carnal knowledge through the use of force or threat of force, including attempts. Statutory rape (without force) is excluded and both heterosexual and homosexual rapes are included. "The actual numbers [in Anchorage] show that there's a slight reduction in what the UCR's (Uniform Crime Report) call forcible rape and again that fits their narrow definition of what rape is," said Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker. "I think we would find in terms of reports, we would see an increase in the area of sexual assault, generally." When it comes to the definition of rape, most statistics differ but when it comes to people who have suffered some kind of sexual assault, local activists say the feelings of hurt and shame remain universal. |
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
|
You have indicated this comment should be removed.
The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .
lucalind said on Wednesday, Mar 2 at 9:54 PM
With crimes like these no wonder there is a huge demand for Criminal Justice professionals get a degree from "United Forensic College"
61819066Add a comment
Most Popular