National Crime Victim Rights Week: 'Focus on justice for all victims'

Staci Yates would like everyone to know that April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and that April 24-30 is National Crime Victim Rights week.

“This week we should be focusing on removing barriers to achieve justice for all victims of crime. We should be enforcing victim’s rights and expanding access to services for victims,” Yates says of the importance of this week.

Staci Yates would also like to remind people there are three House Bills that have been introduced to address sex trafficking and penalties on traffickers, as well as those who exploit and victimize people for sex trafficking, while also giving protection to victims.

Yates works as the My House Director of Human Trafficking Recovery Services in Wasilla and has been appointed to the Governor’s Council on Human and Sex Trafficking. She is also the chair of Alaska Stop Human Trafficking Alliance (ASHTA).

Back in February, Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced three bills focused on combating sex trafficking back in February: HB 317, 318, and 319. The bills were introduced as part of Dunleavy’s “People First Initiative” that is aimed at addressing several public safety issues facing Alaskans.

HB 317 more clearly defines sex offenses and increases penalties for sex trafficking, and creates a “patron of a victim of sex trafficking” crime as a class “B” felony if the victim is under 18 years of age, and a class “C” felony if they are older. Additionally, there is a section of the law that would expunge a prostitution record if survivors are able to show that they were victims of sex trafficking at the time of the offense.

HB 318 focuses on protecting victims and provides greater protections during bail hearings and the process of determining conditions of release. The bill would make changes designed to help the court enforce its bail orders to ensure the appearance of the defendant and the safety of the victim and the community at large. These changes in the law provide the criminal justice system more tools, both pre- and post-trial, to address those fail to comply with their conditions of release and pose a risk to the community.

It would also protect the victim from having to appear at a grand jury if an indictment is being sought by allowing key witnesses, most often the officer in the case, to summarize the testimony of other witnesses. This change will let prosecutors call fewer witnesses at the grand jury phase, reducing victim to re-traumatization so soon after the crime occurred. It will also make the process more efficient and assist in reducing the backlog that was created when grand juries were suspended due to COVID-19.

HB 319 would qualify sexual contact without force as a class “C” felony, which would then require those convicted of the crime to register as sex offenders. Currently, Alaska law requires force or the threat of force during unwanted sexual contact to be considered sexual assault, while HB 319 would allow for conviction for unwanted sexual contact without force. The bill closes several other loopholes in the law and adds additional crimes that would require registration as a sex offender.

There has been movement on the three pieces of legislation as they make their ways through the House and Senate. According to the Alaska Legislative Information Office, HB 317 is awaiting a hearing in the Finance Committee. HB 318 has had 2 hearings in State Affairs but has not yet moved out of that committee, and HB 319 has also been referred to the State Affairs Committee. Meanwhile, the companion legislations are making their way through the Senate side in their respective committees.

“How much more important is Victim Protection, Sex Offense and Trafficking bills that will help and protect the most vulnerable of our state?” asks Yates, who is frustrated at the lack of hearings for any of the 3 bills and eager to see the bills signed into law.

Yates is passionate in her support for the measures, “As a survivor of sexual assault and sex trafficking, I know just how important these bills will be for victims. Being able to expunge the record of someone who was forced into sex trafficking will enable them to move on in their life, offering them a new beginning,” she shares.

She is hopeful that with the passage of legislation, more light will be shown on the silent crime of sex trafficking. While there were recent convictions of 3 men in Anchorage involved in sex trafficking, Yates points to the lack of arrests made in cases that involve sex or human trafficking. Unlike other crimes, it is difficult to collect the numbers on how many people are trafficked, often because it goes under the radar in the legal system.

Yates is looking forward to the creation of a statewide database that would allow authorized providers to spot patterns and identify root causes within homelessness, trafficking, and missing and murdered of Indigenous persons.

“Once that database is in place, we will be able to see what our numbers really are in the state of Alaska, “she says.

Her group, ASTHA is also pushing for education and awareness of trafficking, with a training program for law enforcement in October, education for kids to recognize when they might be influenced or groomed, and public awareness campaigns. ASHTA partnered with Alaska Peace Officers Association (APOA) Mat-Su Chapter and created posters that describe and self-identify victims of trafficking.

“I didn’t self-identify as a victim, I didn’t know I was a victim, but once you read the descriptions, the hope is that someone can identify if they’re being trafficked and reach out for help and protection” Yates says of the awareness campaign partnership. She is hoping to see posters in bus stops, cabs, and other high visibility areas. The posters are already in airports, and Yates would eventually like to see phone landlines installed next to posters so victims have a way to reach out for help.

“Victims usually don’t have access to cell phones or their ID, they’re closely monitored. If there’s a landline, they can reach out and call directly.”

Yates participated in the Ribbon Hanging ceremony hosted by Victims for Justice at Hostetler Park this past Monday, and was still emotional when recalling all the people hanging different color ribbons either for themselves or others.

“I remembered the overwhelming sadness and despair I felt as a victim,” she says before taking a sad breath and continues with strength, “Then as I watched others hanging ribbons for those who they lost, hope came over as I looked and saw people holding one another, offering sympathy, love and hope. Collectively using our voices to say ‘we stand for justice for victims, for our loved ones.’”

Yates has a final message to the Alaska House and Senate: “I implore you to move on these crime bills during National Crime Victim’s Week. We the people, the survivors of crimes deserve to have the bills be in a top place of priority.”

For more information and local services, or if you believe you or someone is the victim of sex trafficking, contact My House at (907) 373-HELP (4357), the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (907) 586-3650, or the STAR Hotline at1-800-478-8999.