Domestic violence on the rise, services minimal

MAT-SU — The devastating effects of domestic violence — from sexual assault to child abuse — are being felt from the state’s smallest village to its largest city. Alaska ranks second in the nation in domestic violence.

In the Mat-Su Valley, an area ranked at the top of a growing trend of domestic violence, the number of domestic violence cases has increased each year.

In September, Gov. Sarah Palin declared October to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Alaska at a public ceremony at Loussac Library.

“I call on all Alaskans to become active in the fight to end domestic violence in all of its forms, and to assume the responsibility to make the message clear, both by word and deed, that domestic violence is unacceptable,” Palin said.

In the Mat-Su Valley, one agency is taking the lead in promoting domestic violence awareness and support in an area hit hard with the growing problem.

Last year, 184 women and 237 children checked into Alaska Family Services’ (AFS) Safety Shelter in Palmer. The shelter is set up to house, council and provide a safe house for victims of domestic violence with a maximum stay anywhere from 30 to 60 nights. The shelter holds just 32 beds. The shelter’s capacity, according to AFS, is not enough.

“[People involved in] domestic violence cases who show up at our facility have gone up not just in numbers, but in length of stay as well. The cases are getting more complicated and it’s getting more difficult to place families once they leave because of lack of housing,” said Donn Benice, executive director at AFS.

Currently, local domestic violence victims, sometimes with the help of law enforcement, arrive at AFS and go through an intake process to get them out of harm’s way. They work quickly with counselors to put a plan in place. They then are placed in crisis intervention and receive help with protective orders and referred to agencies set up to assist domestic cases.

The shelter also provides access to a network of women sharing the common problem of domestic abuse.

Benice said part of the reason the Mat-Su Valley has seen an increase in domestic violence cases over the past three years is the growing population, but primarily it’s due to drug and alcohol abuse.

“The severity has gone up due to substance abuse, which plays a huge factor,” Benice said. “We’re a maxed-out facility. It really becomes a funding problem with the government agencies and we have no other way of providing immediate assistance at this time other than what we currently offer.”

Alaska has 15 domestic violence and/or sexual assault shelters statewide. AFS is the only shelter in the Mat-Su Valley.

Aside from the Safe Shelter, AFS provides a 24-hour domestic violence crisis line for victims and those affected by domestic violence to call.

Benice said that once a victim of domestic violence chooses to get help, AFS provides intervention counseling, a support group, advocacy for victims, and assists victims with protective orders with Mat-Su Valley police, mental health coordinators and the court system.

AFS’s motto is simple: “You don’t deserve to be abused. Remember, another person's violence is not your fault.”

According to AFS’s Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Program Web site, the definition of domestic/sexual violence is when one person uses emotional, verbal, psychological, sexual or physical abuse to gain power and control over another person.

Threatening and forcible behaviors are often used to manipulate and instill fear in the individual. AFS states that without intervention, abuse will increase and may lead to physical violence, permanent injury and even death. Its statistics show that once someone is hit by an abusive partner, she or he will be hit again.

AFS takes actions against domestic violence on all fronts.

The 24-hour crisis and information line is staffed by specially trained advocates in domestic violence who will provide a supportive and comforting voice to those in crisis as well as information about resources in the Valley, day or night, AFS information states.

AFS ensures any information a victim shares is kept strictly confidential, and no one needs to give her or his name.

According to Jill Fankhauser, development coordinator for Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC) in Anchorage, one out of every three woman are touched by domestic violence or sexual abuse in some nature.

“The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence currently rates Alaska second in the nation with the highest number of reported domestic violence cases,” Fankhauser said. “That’s astronomical. We think it’s a problem that needs to be brought to the forefront, not later, but now.”

AWAIC is one of a few federal and state funded non-profit groups advocating assistance and education about domestic violence to women and families in Anchorage.

Fankhauser said that even though they haven’t set up a shelter in the Valley, their office still sees many from the area come in seeking help.

“Fear is a huge inhibitor,” said Fankhauser. “We let them know, ‘you’re safe here.’ Social services in Alaska is scrambling right now to get more services in place for domestic violence victims. We feel an obligation for people from the Valley commuting to Anchorage and from victims all over the state.”

The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA) is a non-profit, membership corporation composed of 21 programs statewide that provide services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, offender services, and adult crisis intervention services.

AWAIC and AFS are a part of ANDVSA’s network.

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.