Alaska, despite being a very beautiful place, does not seem to be doing enough to protect its citizens from sexual assault. The state has the highest number of reported rapes in the country, according to new statistics published by the FBI. Crime numbers from 2012 show that the rate of reported rapes is 79.7 per 100,000 people, which is more than any other state and more than the four states with the lowest of reported rapes combined. Alaska's rate is three times the national average of 27 per 100,000 people.
The rate of rape is lowest (or, as CNN points out, least frequently reported) in New Jersey, where the number is 11.7 per 100,000. New York, Virginia, and Vermont follow closely behind, each with reported rapes of less than 20 per 100,000. The state with the second highest rate is South Dakota, which has a similarly high rate of 70.2 rapes. After Alaska and South Dakota, the numbers drop sharply; Michigan is the third-highest state, with 46.4 per 100,000.
"Alaska has an epidemic," Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell told CNN. "It's not bear attacks or deadly roads. It's rape and violence against women." A 2010 poll of Alaskan women showed that nearly half had experienced intimate partner violence, and 37 percent had experienced sexual violence.
The White House recently published a new report, "Rape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action," which stated that women at college are the most likely group in the country to be at risk for rape and sexual assault. The report also states that nearly 22 million American women and 1.6 million men have been raped in their lifetimes, although the numbers could be even higher due to the chronic underreporting of rape and sexual assault.
American Indian and Alaska Native women have some of the highest numbers of rape at 27 percent, which is crucial when considering Alaska's shameful numbers. The report, complied by the White House Council on Women and Girls, says that 33.5 percent of multiracial women have been raped, compared to 15 percent of Hispanic, 22 percent of black, and 19 percent of white women. Victims of rape are more likely to suffer from incidents of depression, substance abuse, diabetes, and chronic pain.
Perhaps these new statistics will be enough for more people to actually start believing rape victims, and encourage more campuses to accept the obvious, that non-consensual sex is, in fact, rape.
CNN has an interactive map of the states and their numbers. Here is the ranked list of the states (from safest, to least safe):
Rates are the number of reported forcible rapes per 100,000 people.
1. New Jersey - 11.7
2. New York - 14.6
3. Virginia - 17.7
4. Vermont - 19.3
5. North Carolina - 20.3
6. Hawaii - 20.5
7. California - 20.6
8. Maryland - 21
9. Wisconsin - 21.3
10. Georgia - 21.4
11. West Virginia - 22.7
12. Massachusetts - 24.7
13. Missouri - 25.1
14. Louisiana - 25.2
15. Indiana - 25.5
16. Connecticut - 25.6
17. Pennsylvania - 26.1
18. Delaware - 26.5
19. Wyoming - 26.7
20. Alabama - 26.9
21. Florida - 27.2
22. Rhode Island - 27.4
23. Mississippi - 27.5
24. Illinois - 27.7
25. Maine - 28
26. Iowa - 28.3
27. Kentucky - 29
28. Oregon - 29.2
29. Texas - 29.6
30. Idaho - 30
31. Minnesota - 30.5
32. Tennessee - 31.5
33. Ohio - 31.7
34. Washington - 31.8
35. Utah - 33
36. Nevada - 33.7
37. New Hampshire - 34
38. Arizona - 34.7
39. South Carolina - 35.5
40. Kansas - 36.5
41. District of Columbia - 37.3
42. Montana - 37.7
43. Nebraska - 38.3
44. North Dakota 38.9
45. Colorado - 40.7
46. Oklahoma - 41.6
47. Arkansas - 42.3
48. New Mexico - 45.9
49. Michigan - 46.4
50. South Dakota - 70.2
51. Alaska - 79.7
