 |
L. Diane Casto, Executive
Director, Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault |
Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center director, and
L. Diane Casto, executive director of the
Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA), discussed domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska on
Line One: Your Health Connection on Alaska Public Media on Monday, June 5. Using information from the
2015 Alaska Victimization Survey, Dr. Rosay reported that half of all women in Alaska have experienced intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. He pointed out that the prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual violence decreased by more than 30% since 2010. Unfortunately, the numbers remain unacceptably high. In addition, they are high everywhere in Alaska. But as Diane Casto said, women in rural Alaska face the additional challenge of having few services available for support.
As the new CDVSA executive director, Casto plans to continue to work with UAA's Justice Center to develop data-informed interventions. It is important to determine which interventions are working, Casto said. She added that programs aimed at prevention are extremely important. In the long run, it costs much less to prevent abuse than to intervene once it is occurring, she added.
