Rape and Domestic Violence Victims Beware: Governor Sarah Palin Couldn't Care Less About You

THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

By Mark Karlin

September 16, 2008

By now, most readers of BuzzFlash know that Governor Sarah Palin, while mayor of the strip-mall hamlet of Wasilla, would not follow the common practice of having the city pay for the evidence collection kits needed by rape victims. In fact, the Alaska legislature -- as Republican as it is -- passed a law forcing Palin to cover the costs of rape victims gathering medical evidence, not to mention keeping Palin from victimizing raped women twice.

In fact, Palin’s financial tax on rape victims likely reduced the potential number of rape charges, because poor women couldn’t afford the kits and therefore would have a more difficult time proving rape. In this manner, Palin was, in effect, facilitating more rapists on the streets of Wasilla. And don’t think that is a wild charge; it’s just the reality of the impact of her tax on rape victims of limited means.

But there is another troubling sign that Palin is perhaps a female version of a man who believes women perhaps invite rape and domestic violence upon themselves, and that it’s not imperative for the government to help such female victims. This evidence of Palin’s position comes buried, ironically, in a September 15th Washington Post article on TrooperGate.

Now, remember that TrooperGate is focused on the high likelihood that Palin and her husband Todd had the Alaskan Public Safety Commissioner terminated because he wouldn’t fire Palin’s former brother-in-law, who was in an acrimonious custody battle with Palin’s sister. Since Palin’s selection as the Republican vice presidential candidate, the McCain campaign has swept in and hired lawyers and directed surrogates in the Alaska State Legislature to try and squash or stonewall the investigation. In fact, only the McCain campaign (not Palin, because she is being "protected" from the media and will not hold a news conference, which even Dan Quayle did) will answer questions about TrooperGate.

In the 9/15 Washington Post article, we found the following:

"The 'last straw,' the campaign said, was a trip Monegan [the Public Safety Commissioner] planned to Washington in July to seek federal money for investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases. In a July 7 e-mail, John Katz, the governor's special counsel, noted two problems with the trip: the governor hadn't agreed the money should be sought, and the request ‘is out of sequence with our other appropriations requests and could put a strain on the evolving relationship between the Governor and Sen. Stevens.’"

This is astounding. The McCain campaign is attempting to disprove that Monegan was kicked out because he wouldn’t fire a state trooper due to the personal emotions of the Palins by asserting that Monegan was doing something wrong by trying to improve the state’s ability to investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases! And they are bragging that Palin wanted good relations with the corrupt and indicted (seven counts) Senator Ted Stevens, who is supposed to be one of the politicians Palin is going to rid Washington of!

Meanwhile, an ABC News article of September 15th is entitled "Critics Question Palin's Record on 'Epidemic' Rape, Domestic Violence in Alaska: Effort to Tackle Sex Violence Stalled by Palin's Office, Sources Say":

Evangelicals and social conservatives have embraced McCain's vice presidential pick for what they call her "pro-family," "pro-woman" values. But in Alaska, critics say Gov. Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children.

Alaska leads the nation in reported forcible rapes per capita, according to the FBI, with a rate two and a half times the national average – a ranking it has held for many years. Children are no safer: Public safety experts believe that the prevalence of rape and sexual assault of minors in Alaska makes the state's record one of the worst in the U.S. And while solid statistics on domestic violence are hard to come by, most – including Gov. Palin – agree it is an "epidemic."

Despite the governor's pro-family image, public safety experts and advocates for women and children struggled when asked to explain how Palin's leadership has helped address the crisis. And current and former officials from Palin's administration confirmed that an ambitious plan to tackle the crisis has apparently sunk into doldrums after arriving at the governor's office.

"She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children . . . we haven't been on her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Juneau-based group is an umbrella organization for shelters and anti-violence programs around the state.

State troopers respond to most domestic violence calls outside of Alaska's major cities, but they're too short-staffed and under-funded to do it well, according to Robert Claus, a recently retired trooper.

"The training says you always respond to domestic violence with two people, [but] for most of my career that hasn't been possible," said Claus, who lives on the remote island he patrolled for 15 years. "So how do you go down the list and do what you're supposed to do – separate the people, transport one person while taking care of the kids and victim? You have to pick and choose. We haven't seen the money to do that."

Take careful note of the last sentence: "We haven't seen the money to do that."

If Palin were a man, she would be pilloried as indifferent to the needs of women who have been raped or been victims of domestic violence. In Wasilla, she actually penalized raped women by having them pay to prove that they were raped.

This is unconscionable.

Any woman or man who believes in supporting women victimized by violence should understand loudly and clearly that Governor Palin does not, as an elected official, give such women anything but lip service.  State legislators had to force her as Mayor to pay for rape evidence kits needed to prosecute rapists.

Although there are some service centers for women in Alaska who say that Palin has spoken out against domestic violence, her record on the issue indicates that it is hardly a priority, and that her official excuse for firing the person in charge of law enforcement for the State of Alaska was that he was trying to seek money to improve the prosecution of those who commit sexual assaults against women. She had other priorities with the indicted Senator Ted Stevens, such as the infamous Bridge to Nowhere for which she eagerly sought federal funds.

Any woman who votes for McCain-Palin should be forewarned that they will be on their own if they are raped or victimized by sexual violence.

Sarah Palin is too caught up in carrying out "God’s mission," earmarks for bridges to nowhere, and conducting personal vendettas to make it a priority to help women experiencing criminal sexual assaults.

THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

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