by Paula Dobbyn | Nov 17, 2021 | Blog, News
People with disabilities face a much higher rate of violent crime than people without disabilities, a new federal report finds.
The rate of violent victimization against people with disabilities was almost 4 times the rate for those without disabilities during 2017 to 2019, the period studied, according to statistics from the U.S. Justice Department.
Persons with disabilities were victims of 26% of all nonfatal violent crime, while accounting for 12% of the population.
One in three robbery victims had at least one disability, and people with cognitive disabilities had the highest rate of violent victimization, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, an arm of the Justice Department.
The report also found that people with disabilities who are rape victims are much less likely to seek help from law enforcement. Nineteen percent of rapes or sexual assaults against people with disabilities were reported to police, compared to 36% of those against persons without disabilities.
For women with disabilities, the rate of violent victimization was 49.4 per 1,000 people, compared to 11.3 per 1,000 females without disabilities.
People with cognitive disabilities had the highest rate of violent victimization among the types of disabilities measured.
Researchers compiled the findings through an annual National Crime Victimization Survey carried out by the U.S. Census Bureau.
by Paula Dobbyn | Nov 17, 2021 | Blog, News
Tory Shanklin and Brittani Clancy at FashionPact store.
Brittani Clancey was a stay-at-home Anchorage mom with a taste for fashion. When the youngest of her four children went off to kindergarten, Clancey had a little more time on her hands to pursue a dream. The Anchorage-born-and-raised fashionista decided to start a business, one that would give back to her community.
She opened a thrift shop on the eastern end of downtown, with a business model that’s designed to boost revenue for local charities, Victims for Justice among them.
Her shop, located at 575 Ingra Street, is called FashionPact. It sells a wide variety of gently used clothes, accessories, household items and more. Clancey calls it a “resale boutique.”
Boutique or not, what sets FashionPact apart from other thrift shops is that a large share of everything Clancey earns she donates to over 50 local nonprofits serving Anchorage. The nonprofits are all homegrown, she said.
“Being from Anchorage, local is really important to me,” Clancey said.
Everything in the store sells for five dollars. Whoever donated the item gets to choose a nonprofit they want a dollar of the proceeds to go to and the buyer gets to do the same. With this formula, Clancey keeps three dollars and the other two go to charity.
“The charities basically don’t have to do anything. They sign up with us and they continue receiving a check each month,” she said.
Clancey uses custom software to track everything in the store via QR code. Once an item is purchased, the software directs the funds to be disbursed once a month to the appropriate nonprofit.
“I don’t think this model would be possible without it,” Clancey said.
Clancey counts on community members to donate items. Things are going well since she opened in June but she anticipates that things will slow down after the holidays. She urges anyone with gently used, fashionable clothes to donate them and shop, especially in January and February.
“We need a lot of volume. We need people coming in to shop and we need people coming in to donate. We have to sell a couple hundred items every day to stay in business.”
Victims for Justice executive director Victoria Shanklin recently stopped by FashionPact to thank Clancey for what she is doing for the community.
“Our organization has already benefitted greatly from FashionPact. In fact, it puts larger programs like AmazonSmile to shame! This is a perfect example of how for-profit can merge with non-profit to really make a difference in our community. This is transformative for Anchorage and we can’t thank Brittney enough. Visit! Donate! Shop!,” Shanklin said.
To see a list of the nonprofits that FashionPact supports, visit the shop’s website.
by Paula Dobbyn | Oct 12, 2021 | Blog, News
A new statewide survey reveals a staggeringly high percentage of Alaska women face victimization in their homes, relationships and communities, figures that are likely underreported and on the rise.
According to the 2020 Alaska Victimization Survey, conducted by the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Justice Center and the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, nearly 60% of Alaska women surveyed reported having experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or both during their lifetime.
That’s a 14.7% increase from a similar study conducted in 2015.
Some 2,100 women over 18 participated in the survey. It found that 48 out of 100 Alaska women reported intimate partner violence; 41 out of 100 Alaska women experienced sexual violence; and 58 out of 100 experienced either of these types of violence over the course of their lifetime.
“This survey helps give voice to the hundreds of victims of violence across our diverse state,” said L. Diane Casto, executive director of the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
The data shines a light on the scope of the problem, increases public awareness and should help policymakers better align and direct resources to the areas that need them the most, she said.
The lead researcher on the project was UAA’s Dr. Ingrid Johnson.
The numbers were collected via household survey of randomly selected adult women in Alaska. Participants are asked a series of behaviorally specific questions to determine their experiences with lifetime and past year intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking, according to the researchers.
The high abuse statistics likely reflect only a fraction of what Alaska women actually experience.
Numerous studies, including national victimization surveys, have found the majority of individuals who experience rape/sexual assault and nearly half of those who experience intimate partner violence do not report their victimization to police.
Researchers say the best way to gather data on crime victimization is to ask a large number of individuals whether or not they have been victimized, and make estimates based on those data.
Read the study here.
by Paula Dobbyn | Oct 12, 2021 | Blog, News
As the victim of a violent crime, you may be wondering when the person who harmed you will appear in court for the first time.
If the charge is for a misdemeanor crime, the defendant will have an arraignment. An arraignment is usually the first court proceeding in a criminal case. It’s when a judge tells a defendant what he or she is charged with and what their rights are in the court process. The judge asks whether they want to plead guilty, not guilty or no contest.
If the defendant is in jail, the arraignment should happen within 24 hours of the arrest. If the prosecutor does not file a charging document by the time of arraignment, the judge releases the defendant from jail. The prosecutor can still file charges later. If the defendant was not in jail, the arraignment may be scheduled within a few weeks.
If the person is charged with a felony crime, they appear before the court within 24 hours after arrest. This hearing is called a first appearance, and initial appearance or a Rule 5 hearing. At this time, a judge reads the charges and advises the defendant of his or her rights. There will be an arraignment at a later date.
In essence, Rule 5 is a criminal procedure rule that provides required timelines for when people who have been arrested or cited must appear in court for an arraignment or felony first appearance.
by Paula Dobbyn | Oct 8, 2021 | Blog
Although Alaska leads the nation in the number of violent crimes per capita, authorities reported a steep drop in crime in Alaska in 2020.
According to the Crime in Alaska 2020 report released by the Alaska Department of Public Safety in September 2021, Alaska’s overall crime rate fell by 18.5% last year as the coronavirus pandemic continued to grip the nation. The total number of reported violent crimes decreased by 3.7% and the number of property crimes decreased by 22.9%, the lowest total number of reported property offenses since 1974.
Alaska reported 48 homicides in 2020, a decrease of 31.4% from the prior year. The murder rate per 100,000 persons decreased 31.4% between 2019 and 2020.
Nationally, the murder rate increased by nearly 30% from the prior year, an unprecedented spike. According to the FBI, there were 9,630 homicides in the United States, the largest single-year increase in the murder rate since the agency began tracking these crimes in the 1960s.
One category of violent crime that did not decrease in Alaska in 2020: rape. The rate went from 151.2 to 154.8 per 100,000 people, according to the FBI.
The actual figure is likely higher since many victims of rape and sexual assault never contact law enforcement, a situation exacerbated by Covid lockdowns. Domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) agencies have reported an increase in services and calls since the pandemic began. With the public largely isolated from third-party mandated reporters, such as school teachers and nurses, advocates estimate that DV and SA numbers are much higher than official numbers.
Alaska’s violent crime rate of 838 incidents for every 100,000 people makes Alaska the most violent state in the nation. The vast majority of violent crimes reported in Alaska in 2020 — 69% — were aggravated assault.
by Paula Dobbyn | Aug 12, 2021 | Blog, Make Your Voice Heard, News
“November 3, 2019 is a date that will always make me shudder. It was a date that drastically and forever changed me.”
With this sentence, Tasia Giannulis’ victim impact statement begins. A judge read it aloud in Anchorage Superior Court in April before sentencing a man to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to felony assault charges.
Photo by Paula Dobbyn
“Nothing has been the same since. It was beyond traumatizing,” Tasia’s statement continues.
Tasia’s nightmare involved a man she had been dating, who one night promised to kill her with a crowbar. Later that evening, as she tried to flee, Tasia found herself trapped inside her car with the man outside, smashing the windows of her vehicle with that very crow bar.. Covered in the shattered glass of her windshield, Tasia managed to start the car and escape to safety. The harrowing incident left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, debilitating panic attacks, trouble sleeping and eating.
“Once happy and easygoing, I now find myself feeling angry, hopeless, ashamed, alone, confused, helpless and still so scared. My sense of security and self-confidence were shattered, and I am struggling to move past that date. My closest relationships have suffered greatly, and I have become guarded and distrusting,” Tasia’s victim impact statement continued.
Alaska is often called the nation’s deadliest state for women. According to a 2010 study by the University of Alaska Anchorage, some 59 percent of adult women in Alaska have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both, in their lifetimes.
When perpetrators are arrested and charges are brought against them, victims often find themselves suddenly immersed in a criminal justice system that feels confusing and overwhelming. That’s the way it felt for Tasia.
But Anchorage police gave Tasia a number to call. It was to the office of Victims for Justice, which provides victims of violent crime statewide with an array of services ranging from crisis intervention to court accompaniment.
Tasia dialed the number and connected with VFJ’s lead advocate, Michelle Evans.
Evans listened and provided guidance and support as the case worked its way through the court system. Already backlogged before Covid, the criminal justice system slowed down even further during the pandemic. The case involving Tasia’s perpetrator reached its conclusion 17 long months after the assault occurred.
But despite the delay, Tasia says VFJ was there for her all along the way.
“To say that Michelle and Victims for Justice has helped me can’t begin to capture their support. Without this organization and the encouragement, guidance and love from Michelle, I would not have had the courage or the strength to do what I needed to do so that this dangerous man was held accountable for the terrible things he did to me. From the moment that I met Michelle, I never doubted for a second that she had my best interests in mind. She answered every worried call, text and email throughout the entire case – start to finish. She spoke to the District Attorney’s office on my behalf and listened in on case hearings when I was too scared to go. She helped me understand and navigate a very complicated and confusing court process,” Tasia said.
Evans suggested her client apply to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board for a therapist specialized to help with severe trauma and PTSD.
“What happened to me that night was life changing, yes, but so was having the support of Michelle and VFJ. I have been able to rise from the darkest night of my life through love, support, hard work, tears and therapy, and I have found my voice. I stood up for myself and he is in jail for what he did to me. They helped me walk through the scariest and most difficult days with my head held high. Today I feel strong, empowered and free. Now I can close that chapter and move on. I am forever grateful that Michelle came into my life when she did. Without her, none of this would have been possible,” Tasia said
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