04/06/2017 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

        SCR 2-SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH: APRIL 2017                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:59:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced  that the next order  of business would                                                               
be SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.  2, Proclaiming April 2017 as                                                               
Sexual Assault Awareness Month.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:00:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHRISTINE  MARASIGAN, Staff,  Senator Kevin  Meyer, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,    responded   to    an   earlier    question   from                                                               
Representative Sullivan-Leonard  during the April 4  House Health                                                               
and Social Services Standing Committee  meeting about progress on                                                               
lowering  the  high  rate  of  sexual assault.    She  said  that                                                               
generally there  had been a  decline and she  relayed information                                                               
from  the Intimate  Partner Violence  and Sexual  Violence Alaska                                                               
Victimization  Survey,  which compared  the  results  of 2010  to                                                               
2015.  She  shared that in 2010, 12 in  100 women had experienced                                                               
intimate partner violence  and by 2015, this had dropped  to 8 in                                                               
100  women.   She said  that  during this  same period,  intimate                                                               
partner violence  had decreased  by 32 percent,  a drop  of 6,556                                                               
women, and  sexual violence had  decreased by 33 percent,  a drop                                                               
of  3,072 women.   She  reported that  more than  half the  adult                                                               
women  in  Alaska,  more  than  130,000  women,  had  experienced                                                               
violence  in  their  lifetime, and,  although  these  rates  were                                                               
coming down, Alaska  was still number one in the  U.S. for sexual                                                               
assault and violence.   She stated that it was  hard to attribute                                                               
the decline to  one particular program, but  rather a combination                                                               
of many public awareness campaigns and education.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:03:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:03:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TARA  BURNS,   Community  United   for  Safety   and  Protection,                                                               
explained that  her organization was  for current and  former sex                                                               
workers in  Alaska, sex trafficking  victims, and  allies working                                                               
toward safety and protection for  everyone in Alaska's sex trade.                                                               
She reported  that a recent survey  of Alaska voters did  place a                                                               
high priority on  addressing sexual assault in  the state, noting                                                               
that the  processing of the backlog  of rape kits was  the second                                                               
priority only behind the investigations  for missing and murdered                                                               
sex workers  in Anchorage.  She  added that 93 percent  of voters                                                               
did not  realize that it  was legal  for police officers  to have                                                               
sex with those  they were investigating, with  90 percent wanting                                                               
this to be illegal.  She  shared that more than 70,000 people had                                                               
signed a petition  to make this illegal.  She  stated support for                                                               
HB 112  and SB 73,  noting that  neither bill had  been scheduled                                                               
for  public testimony,  and suggesting  that even  in the  Alaska                                                               
State Legislature  raising more awareness was  necessary to bring                                                               
the law in line with the  priorities of Alaskan voters to address                                                               
sexual assault  in the communities.   She stated support  for the                                                               
proposed resolution.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:05:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ closed public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:05:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EDGMON moved  to report  SCR 2  out of  committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.  There being no objection,  SCR 2 was moved from the House                                                               
Health and Social Services Standing Committee.