Alaska Victimization Survey By Diane Gubatayao October 14, 2013
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and on the evening of Tuesday, October 15th, a particularly significant event is occurring here in Ketchikan. Dr. Andre Rosay of the University of Alaska, Anchorage Justice Center along with Lauree Morton, Executive Director of the State of Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, will be in Ketchikan to release new data collected this summer here in Ketchikan. For the first time, Ketchikan participated in the Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS). The AVS was commissioned by the Alaska State Legislature to understand why statistics show that Alaska leads the nation in rates of domestic violence and sexual assault. It is a very tough topic, but critically important. Over 650 women were surveyed this summer in Ketchikan, and Tuesday night will be our first look at those results. So often it is easy to dismiss data by thinking, “Oh, that’s Anchorage, or that’s Fairbanks”. But this is Ketchikan, this is our community, this is our home, this is us. I encourage anyone who shares the concern of building a healthier, safer community for our families to attend this event Tuesday evening, October 15th, 6:30 pm in the Ketchikan Public Library Conference Room. Changing these sad statistics will take every one of us. Diane Gubatayao Received October 14, 2013 - Published October 14, 2013 Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:
Representations of fact and opinions in letters are solely those of the author. Your full name, city and state are required for letter publication.
|
