Gov. Bill Walker signed House Bill 31 last week requiring a yearly accounting of untested sexual assault kits in the state, as well as providing systems for standardizing sexual assault investigations. Alaska police academies are now required to teach sexual assault investigative techniques and law.
Brad Myrstol, Justice Center director, is a member of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Working Group, which is working with the Alaska Department of Public Safety to develop a protocol for dealing with untested kits and creating a sustainable and victim-centered response to sexual assault cases moving forward. Myrstol, along with Ingrid Johnson, new Justice faculty with an expertise in domestic violence and sexual assault, attended the signing of the bill on Friday, June 29.
Nearly a third (33.1%) of adult women in Alaska have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the 2015 Alaska Victimization Survey. The survey is conducted by the Justice Center for the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
For more on Alaska's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative see the Spring 2018 Alaska Justice Forum.
