It’s a known fact: As mayor of Wasilla, an Alaskan town, Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin thought it was prudent to have rape victims pay for their own rape kits and exams. From the NYTimes OpEd Page:
This on top of some startling stats from staralaska.org:
- Alaska is the # 1 state in the country for Rape and has been for 23 out of the last 30 years (FBI’s Uniform Crime Report)
- Alaska’s reported rate of rape per capita is 2.6 times the national average (FBI’s Uniform Crime Report)
- Anchorage has the ninth highest sexual assault rate of any city in the United States, and Fairbanks is ranked first (FBI’s Uniform Crime Report)
- Fairbanks’ rape rate is 4.7 times the national average (FBI’s Uniform Crime Report)
We really need to understand her reasoning behind this and call her on it. She’s kept quiet about it far too long.