The lawless "end of the land" - sexual assault in Alaska

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/opinion/sutter-alaska-rape-lawless/index.html



This article is long but very informative regarding Alaska's sexual assault crisis. We are number one in the nation.

Nunam Iqua, Alaska (CNN) -- Over the course of several years, Beth's boyfriend shattered her elbow, shot at her, threatened to kill her, lit a pile of clothes on fire in her living room, and, she told me, beat her face into a swollen, purple pulp.

These are horrifying yet common occurrences here in the 200-person village of Nunam Iqua, Alaska, which means "End of the Land" in the Yupik Eskimo language.

Yet the violence is allowed to continue in part because Nunam Iqua is one of "at least 75 communities" in the state that has no local law enforcement presence, according to a 2013 report from the Indian Law and Order Commission.

"There would be someone to call for help" if there were police, said Beth, a 32-year-old who asked that I not use her real name because her abuser is still free. "Someone who could actually do something -- right there, as soon as they get the call."

Seems reasonable, huh?

Not in rural Alaska.

Here, state troopers often take hours or days to respond, usually by plane.

The flight takes 45 minutes, at minimum.

<snip>

[Agony]

1. the "suffocating" darkness of winter does not help matters...

some things have not changed much since Jimmy Huntington's mother walked 1000 miles in the dead of winter to be with her children after her husband is shot and killed and justice miscarries in Nome... as told in "On the Edge of Nowhere". On your own with no law enforcement, especially as a woman, is tough.

[niyad]

2. so very sorry about your status as number 1.

[In_The_Wind]

3. Kick

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. get out of there women, get to safety