(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the State of Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA), along with the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, is releasing new data about the extent of victimization in selected regions of the state.

The public is invited to attend the first release of data from the Alaska Victimization Survey conducted in Ketchikan during the summer of 2013.  The event is scheduled for Tuesday evening, 6:30-7:30 PM in the large conference room in the Ketchikan Public Library.  Dr. Andre Rosay, UAA Justice Center, and Lauree Morton, Executive Director of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will be in attendance to introduce the results of the Ketchikan data.

The Alaska Victimization Survey was commissioned by the Alaska State Legislature to understand the statistics that show that Alaska has the highest rates of domestic violence and sexual assault in the nation. The Alaska Victimization Survey was conducted statewide in 2010 and modeled after the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Surveillance System (NISVSS) developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the National Institute of Justice and the U. S. Department of Defense.

Surveys have also been conducted in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Sitka, Kodiak, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Juneau and Bristol Bay among others. The data provides definitive measures of the incidence and prevalence of violence against women in Alaska.

This summer over 650 women over the age of 18 were randomly surveyed in Ketchikan, and Tuesday night will be the first time we learn of some of the results of this study.

“Becoming more aware of the scope and extent of the problems by region, as well as statewide, is an important step,” Dr. Rosay states. “UAA Justice Center is working in partnership with the State to provide a comprehensive analysis that can support state policies and planning.”

Source of News: 

Women In Safe Homes (WISH)

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