Three bills heading to the Alaska Legislature from Gov. Mike Dunleavy would enhance penalties for domestic violence and sex trafficking crimes while prioritizing victim protection, the governor said Friday.
Overall, crime has decreased in Alaska in recent years, but the rates of sexual assault and domestic violence remain “stubbornly high,” Dunleavy said. Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation: A survey in 2020 estimated than 57% of women in Alaska had experienced intimate partner violence or sexual assault during their lifetime.
Dunleavy described the bills as a long-overdue step toward addressing the issue and said he believes it is something Alaskans need to work together to fix.
“Alaska has been known as a place where vulnerable individuals, especially women and children ... have been victimized sometimes over and over and over again,” he said. “And we’re not going to hope it away, we’re not going to wish it away. We have to take some action.”
The three bills focus individually on sex trafficking, victim protection and sex offenses. Dunleavy, who is running for reelection, announced the bills as part of his People First Initiative that aims to address wide-ranging public safety issues.
The sex trafficking bill would add clarity about what constitutes sex trafficking, as opposed to human trafficking or consensual sex work, said Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. Sex trafficking, he said, is defined as actions that cause someone to engage in sexual acts, like using force or threats to coerce victims. The bill would also create new offenses for the crime and enhance sentencing penalties and registration requirements for offenders.
The bill would establish a pathway for people who have prostitution convictions to clear those offenses from their record if they prove they were a victim of sex trafficking when they committed the act, Skidmore said. They would present evidence to the court that could show they were a victim at that time, Skidmore said. The court would then weigh that evidence on a lower standard than needed for convictions and if it’s decided that the person was a victim, the prostitution record would be vacated, he said.
Skidmore said investigators would try to look into offenders who are brought to light during this process, but in some cases it may not be possible to prosecute them because of the statute of limitations.
The bill focused on protecting victims would allow key witnesses, like an officer, to summarize testimony of victims in grand jury hearings in order to reduce trauma and also make the process more efficient, Skidmore said. Federal courts and 32 other states already allow for key witnesses to summarize testimony, he said.
“Think of the most traumatic experience that you’ve had in your life,” Skidmore said. “Then think about having to describe it to other people. Now think about having to describe it to other people repeatedly — again and again and again. We’re seeking to make the system less traumatic to victims because they deserve that.”
Under the new bill, defendants would be required to provide prosecutors with two days’ notice when there is a request to modify bail so victims can participate.
The sex offenses bill would close legal loopholes to current laws and add certain crimes to the sex offender registration requirements.
Fiscal notes for the bills describe a need for additional staffing to accommodate an increased workload at the Department of Law, Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy. The additional staff would cost around $700,000 per year.
“There’s gonna be a cost of this, but it should be understandable that there will be a cost to this because we’re adding resources in order to get ahead of the whole concept of assaulting and being a victim,” Dunleavy said. “And it’s something that’s long overdue.”
The bills were introduced Friday by the Department of Law.