"I stare at the keyboard and wonder what else can possibly be said about the epidemic of domestic violence in our state. If this latest survey from the UAA Justice Center follows the pattern others have, it will cause a stir for a week or so and then, like a dog spotting a squirrel, our attention will be diverted by something shiny flitting by.

When I first arrived in Alaska and saw domestic violence up close and personal, I was told there were lots of reasons for it. It was the darkness, the cold, the lack of activities, the poor economy, the dearth of jobs, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, lack of sanitation, despair, depression, denial -- the list was seemingly endless.

While there was little we could do about the darkness and cold, the pipeline's economic boom should have produced some sort of relief by bringing jobs and money to families. But instead of getting better, statistics on domestic violence seemed to get worse.

So then the explanation became that we had enough money to get better statistics and, having brought the problem out into the open, more women were reporting the abuse, thus making the statistics rise. If that explanation is true, you'd think that after more than 30 years of battling this epidemic, the statistics would have either stabilized or gone down.

Instead, the Justice Center survey shows that previous surveys were still under-reporting the rate of domestic violence in our state. The survey's results show one out of every two women in this state report being abused at some point in their life."

Get the Story:
Elise Patkotak: Shine the light on domestic abusers (The Anchorage Daily News 10/6)

University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center Study:
2010 Alaska Victimization Survey (October 2010)

Related Stories:
Editorial: Study reveals high rates of violence against women (10/4)