Charging rape victims for rape kits started under Mayor Sarah Palin...

[Eric J in MN]

..the previous administration in Wasilla didn't charge rape victims.

She fired police chief Irl Stambaugh for not being loyal enough to her, and hired Charles Fannon who began charging rape victims.

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It turns out that Wasilla did not bill sexual assault victims for the cost of rape exams while Irl Stambaugh was chief of police. As chief, he had included a line item in the budget to pay for the cost of such exams. He had only just heard about the Mayor Palin/Chief Fannon policy today, and was just as shocked to hear about it as I was.

Checking the budget confirmed former Chief Stambaugh's claim. He had included a contingency of $15,000 in his budget for the department's 1st year of existence (1993-1994), $5,000 for 1994-1995 and 1995-1996, and $13,000 for his final year as police chief in 1996-1997, spending $11,625.

Duwayne Charles Fannon, his replacement, halved the budget request in 1997-1998, with a request of $7,298, spending $3,454. However, it seems he began the "victim pays" policy in the 1998-1999 fiscal year.
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[TwilightGardener]

1. The buck stops with her.

edit to add: NOW or some other women's organization really, really needs to make an ad about this.

[catgirl]

3. This alone should be the nail in the coffin

I hope this story gets legs.

[kestrel91316]

2. Hell, I'd bet serious money it was HER IDEA.

[kimmylavin]

4. "Spending $11,625"?

How many rapes took place in this town of 5,000 to 9,000???

[Eric J in MN]

5. The bill is for medical specialists...

...which are expensive, to analyze the kit, not just the kit itself.

[kimmylavin]

6. I realize that, but...

Going by the amount they'd charge the victim ($300 to $1200), let's be conservative and say there were 10 - 15 rapes a year in this small town in Alaska.

I grew up in a town of 8000 in New Jersey, right outside New York City, and I never knew of ONE rape there, let alone 10.

[beac]

7. Alaska has the HIGHEST rate of rape in the country.

Alaska’s rape rate is 2.5 times the national average.

"An Alaska woman is forcibly raped every 18 hrs and 17 minutes (Alaska Uniform Crime Report 2001)"


"According to preliminary reports from the Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) since 1976, Alaska has ranked in the top 5 states for the highest rate of rape per 100,000 total inhabitants."


http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:gYANf-tb_aUJ:www.law.state.ak.us/pdf/civil/dv_summit_speech.pdf+Troopers+target+sexual+violence+in+Alaska,+where+rape+rate+is+nearly+3+times+US+average&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us



I also think it's VERY unlikely that you would have ANY idea how many rapes occurred in your hometown, as many go un-prosecuted due to the often difficult task of proving acquaintance rape.


edited to add: Fortunately, New Jersey's rate is less than ONE-HALF of Alaska's, so be glad you grew up there-- but stop assuming no one in your town was a victim.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004912.html

[kimmylavin]

8. I'm not talking about unreported rapes.

Neither do they charge for unreported rapes in Alaska.

I'm talking about the rapes that are reported, and need rape kits.
The ones that are counted in the statistics.

I never said no one in my town was raped.
I said I never knew of one. (As a small town, whenever ANY crime was committed, it was chewed over for months...)

Btw, victim of an unreported acquaintance rape here, in college - I know many don't get reported.

[beac]

9. I think one of the reasons Alaska's may be SO high is that

bars are open until 5am in many places. Oddly, Palin fought to keep the bars open late while simultaneously deciding to charge victims for their rape kits.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your original post, but it really sounded like you were claiming that you would have known if anyone had been raped in your town-- reported or otherwise-- and were doubting the statistics about Alaska on that basis. Rape is acknowledged to be a HUGE problem is Alaska and I think your experience thousands of miles away is completely irrelevant.