ALASKA
Alaska Dispatch
Alex DeMarban | Jun 26, 2012
Heart-wrenching rates of Alaska Native children witness domestic or sexual violence, and many are victims themselves, troubling facts that mean the cycle of abuse is poised to continue, experts say.
That’s one of the takeaways from a newly published database called Healthy Native Families: Preventing Violence At All Ages. It’s a warehouse of information harvested from recent reports that drills down on the problem among Alaska Natives statewide.
Consider:
•Native mothers of 3-year-olds are eight times more likely than non-Natives to report that their child had witnessed violence or abuse, according to a 2009 state survey. …
Elsie Boudreau, a survivor of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, works with abused Native children at Providence Hospital in Anchorage. A Yup’ik, she provides cultural education and support for child abuse victims and families as part of a response team that includes police, social workers and others.
She said Alaska Native children are disproportionately seen at the program, known as Alaska Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services, or Alaska CARES. Of 900 children who received services last year, 40 percent were Alaska Natives.
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