Critics Question Palin's Record on "Epidemic" Rape, Domestic Violence in Alaska

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

Evangelicals and social conservatives have embraced McCain's vice presidential pick for what they call her "pro-family," "pro-woman" values. But in Alaska, critics say Gov. Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children.

Alaska leads the nation in reported forcible rapes per capita, according to the FBI, with a rate two and a half times the national average a ranking it has held for many years. Children are no safer: Public safety experts believe that the prevalence of rape and sexual assault of minors in Alaska makes the state's record one of the worst in the U.S. And while solid statistics on domestic violence are hard to come by, most including Gov. Palin agree it is an "epidemic."

Despite the governor's pro-family image, public safety experts and advocates for women and children struggled when asked to explain how Palin's leadership has helped address the crisis. And current and former officials from Palin's administration confirmed that an ambitious plan to tackle the crisis has apparently sunk into doldrums after arriving at the governor's office.

"She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children. . . we haven't been on her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Juneau-based group is an umbrella organization for shelters and anti-violence programs around the state.

State troopers respond to most domestic violence calls outside of Alaska's major cities, but they're too short-staffed and under-funded to do it well, according to Robert Claus, a recently retired trooper.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5804581&page=1

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Any woman who votes for McPalin because of Sarah is voting against their own best interest as a woman!

[truthisfreedom]

1. Under palin, not only are you at greater risk for rape, but you'll have to pay for your own rape kit

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/09/sarah_palin_rape_kit_wasilla.html

[BayjanDem]

4. And if you get pregnant, keep the child no matter what n/t.

[The Stranger]

2. Seeing all of her fanatic female supporters holding up their lipstick cases,

I begin to wonder if the Straussians are really right after all, and trying to fight against it is only an exercise in futility.

[superconnected]

6. No it's not futile. We overcame this once, we can over come that female womens rights throwback.

I always thought Alaska would be safer because of less population. You'd think they wouldn't have problems with places of only 5000 people becoming the meth capital and a state with only about 3 million becoming the domestic violence rape capital. They really haven't spent any money/time on those issues it appears.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. K&R

[gratuitous]

5. But she gave everyone tax rebates!

It's not her fault that everyone who got those rebates from the windfall profits on oil companies didn't spend the money on more state troopers. What do they expect the governor to do about that? Lipstick!

[hamsterjill]

7. Yeah, she's really worried about that glass ceiling, isn't she?

This candidate is about as anti-woman as I've ever seen.

[libodem]

8. Sometimes the mindset

of religious fanatics is to just let the church handle it. This happens a lot if the perpetrator is up there in the church leadership. I wonder if that is why she doesn't advocate protection under the law. Maybe she likes the Sharia Law where a woman could be stoned to death for being raped because the law doesn't differentiate between rape and adultery. Illegal sex is illegal sex coercion doesn't count. Fundamentalist Christian Fanatics aren't much better than Muslim Fanatics. Give me compound and a granny dress or a harem and a burka. Same difference.

[DebbieCDC]

13. Fanatics of any persuasion are dangerous

Christian, Muslim, Jewish, whatever.

[yellowcanine]

9. But she can see Russia from Alaska!

[dgibby]

10. Seems like the wolves have company!

Looks like it open season on women and children, too! Wonder how long it will be before She oks airplanes to track them down. Nothing like a "canned hunt", don't you know?:mad:

[Ian David]

11. I'd bet money that her delinqiuent son Track or her separatist husband Taahhwhd is a serial rapist.

Why else would Caribou Barbie be so determined that a rape victim must pay $1,200 out of their own pocket if they want to help the police catch the man who raped them?

[mitchum]

17. She does seem to be very accomodating to rapists, doesn't she?

[Ian David]

19. What if neither she nor her daughter are the real babby-mama, but Todd or Tag are the father?

What if the Down's Syndrome baby is the offspring of some woman that either Todd or Tag raped?

[DebbieCDC]

12. Well sure

Battered and abused women and children have no $$

BP, Chevron, Mobil big $$

Who the fuck do you think wins that game with Sarah Strangelove huh?

[Demeter]

14. I Knew There Must Be Another Reason For Not Moving to Alaska!

Now that climate change is fixing the weather issues there....

[Shallah Kali]

15. It really IS tougher in Alaska .......... for women and kids

:puke:

[ann_american2004]

16. Gosh I wish I could get my conservative friends to read this

All they could talk about at Sunday Brunch was how popular Palin's glasses are now. I just really realized how shallow they are. I dont think I can really associate with them anymore. NOT when I read this sad news. Those poor women and children. It's ludicrous that some of the people I know are going to vote for her because she is pro-life. WHAT A F'ING JOKE! What Pro-Life????

I think I'm going to lose friendships over this election.

[sattahipdeep]

18. Monegan accused of insubordination

By WESLEY LOY
[e-mail]

Published: September 16th, 2008 12:36 AM
Last Modified: September 16th, 2008 01:47 AM

Walt Monegan lost his job as public safety director because he resisted Gov. Sarah Palin's budget policies and showed "outright insubordination," say papers the governor's lawyer filed Monday with the state Personnel Board.

http://www.adn.com/troopergate/story/527346.html


....
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan

Some members of Palin's administration were focused on the issue of sexual violence. Officials in the Department of Public Safety were devising an ambitious, multi-million-dollar initiative to seriously tackle sex crimes in the state, but Palin's office put the plan on hold in July.

Days later, Palin fired its chief proponent, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, after he declined to dismiss a state trooper Palin accused of threatening her own family members. Palin has said she fired Monegan because she wanted to move his department in a "new direction," and he was not being "a team player on budgeting issues." The dismissal is now at the center of a hotly-contested investigation by the state legislature.

The status of the plan, which would have "fast-tracked" sex crime cases via a dedicated group that included specially-trained investigators, judges and prosecutors, is unknown. "I'd ask the governor," said one official with knowledge of the plan. Numerous inquiries to Palin's campaign spokeswoman went unreturned.

just months before she fired him

"An indication of our commitment is the participation here of my, our, department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan's participation here and all of his hard work, and I want to publicly thank him," Palin said in remarks at an April 28 conference on domestic violence. "I want to publicly thank Walt for having his heart in the right place and his efforts too."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5804581&page=1


....
McCain campaign spokesman Mr O'Callaghan said he did not know if Todd Palin would challenge the subpoena, issued on Friday, requiring his cooperation.

Patti Higgins, spokeswoman for the Alaska Democratic Party, accused the Republican presidential campaign of "doing everything it can to stall and smear" the investigation.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7618524.stm

[Rocknrule]

20. Palin is pro-rapist rights!