Men must step up against sexual assault

As I began to write this piece, my troopers were responding to yet another violent assault where a woman was severely attacked over several hours and during which a young child was exposed to the violent behavior — something I have dealt with far too many times in my nearly 30 years in Alaska law enforcement. Throughout my career, we have made progress — protective orders, mandatory arrests in domestic violence cases, Sexual Assault Response Teams, Child Advocacy Centers and stronger and stringent sentencing guidelines — but we are still besieged by this problem. Newspapers and newscasts are still filled with these tragic stories because we are still reacting to the issue and not stopping it at the core. I found myself questioning, why must we wait until the tragedies occur and our children’s lives are forever altered before we do something about the problem? Respect for women and children is the answer; prevention is the key to change.

So what is the difference between Gov. Sean Parnell’s initiative and past efforts?

From my viewpoint the answers are 1.) factual information and 2.) willingness to accept responsibility and act in a collective manner. Previous administrations and legislative champions have truly attempted to galvanize a collective response, but prior to 2000 only fragmented statistics and anecdotal information were available to attempt to understand the magnitude of the problem. Since 2000, the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center has conducted three landmark studies. While the picture regarding the scope of the problem still is not complete, these studies have provided significant factual glimpses into the problem.

According AST’s study on sex crimes:

n 65 percent of the victims were younger than 21 years of age

n 64 percent of the suspects were more than 21 years of age

n friends, relatives and intimate partners accounted for about 94 percent of the victim/suspect relationships.

If you need to be convinced with an even more disgusting fact, there are children right here in Alaska that are treated for sexually transmitted diseases every year. These children do not get these diseases by sitting on dirty toilet seats. In addition, more than 50 percent of the homicides in the state are related to domestic violence.

The studies also demonstrate the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in response to sexual assault, sexual assault on a minor and domestic violence; an understanding that victims are still being underserved; that the problem is not decreasing substantially despite our efforts; and the problem will continue to grow and become even more burdensome on our communities both financially and emotionally. The studies confirmed my belief that many of our efforts focused only upon immediate reaction and intervention through sheltering victims and law enforcement and not on a long-term goal of reduction, which would require prevention, education and statewide collaboration with all partners.

We also need to acknowledge that our state is victimized in one fashion or another. One assault is not just one victim; it is the victimization of the entire Alaska community. If we continue to do the same thing, all Alaskans are faced with the continued victimization of some of our most vulnerable members, continued spending with no end in sight, and yet another generation of victims and perpetrators. If any one of us is violated, we are all violated.

Gov. Parnell and his commissioners, the Legislative Task Force (chaired by Rep. Anna Fairclough), the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, victim advocacy and law enforcement leaders across the state came to the same conclusion: We have to start meaningful changes at the community and grade-school level and we have to realistically expect that the change will not occur overnight. Our goal of changing the acceptance of our No. 1 ranking is not unattainable or too massive. Even the highest mountains are reduced to hills if there is relentless erosion.

Faced with Alaska’s epidemic of violence against women and children, Gov. Parnell and Commissioners Joseph Masters, Bill Hogan, Joe Schmidt, Larry LeDoux and Attorney General Dan Sullivan did not turn away from an unpleasant reality. They did not ignore the plight of victims. They did not say the problem was too big, and suggest that someone else should fix it. They realized that it would initially require more resources and that it would be a decade-long campaign. They knew that the size of the problem would require more than just increased law enforcement, more prosecutors, and more jail space. They knew the costs would continue and increase if the problem wasn’t curtailed. They knew they had to change social norms by educating the public and legislators about the options of non-response in terms of more victims and perpetual costs. They knew they had to expose this dirty secret for the epidemic that it is. They knew that to have a successful effort, they needed to partner with communities to condemn this behavior and send a strong and consistent message that victimizing women and children is unacceptable and that real men do not prove their manhood by force, but rather with respect and caring and by setting a good example to other men and to the next generation of men.

Studies clearly show that men are by far the perpetrators of these reprehensible acts against the very group they should be protecting. In fact, men use their positions as provider, protector and lover to control their victims and prevent or delay reporting. Cowards and bullies pick on those that are most vulnerable.

This initiative is different because we are engaging men in a battle that has historically been fought by women. Armed with facts, honorable and courageous men recognized they needed to “step up” and face the problem head on. It is time for the rest of us to stand up, join them, and say “Enough is enough, we will not continue to tolerate this and look the other way.” Every Alaska man who believes in treating women respectfully and allowing children to grow up without fear of abuse should be proud of themselves. Those men who abuse women and children should take a close look at themselves and realize that strength without self-control is not true strength but depravity.

Col. Audie Holloway is the director of the Alaska State Troopers and has almost 30 years of experience in law enforcement, including two years as AST director. A full version of the opinion piece can be found at Governors SA-SAM-DV Initiative