# Why So Many Rapes in Anchorage, Alaska? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2018, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319 "2018-08-09T05:33:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/21 "2018-08-09T18:07:32Z")
It is not just in Alaska. Rape of indigenous women is at far higher rates than other women, generally. I have heard figures that seem unbelievable. There is very little recourse for them. The majority of rapes are by non-native men. A discussion of the problem in Montana in High Country News: > **[Native American women still have the highest rates of rape and assault](https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-why-native-american-women-still-have-the-highest-rates-of-rape-and-assault)** > > A flawed tribal court structure, little local law enforcement and a lack of funding fail to protect women from violence. report by Amnesty International (.pdf) [https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/mazeofinjustice.pdf](https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/mazeofinjustice.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/22 "2018-08-09T18:19:25Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > It is not just in Alaska. Rape of indigenous women is at far higher rates than other women, generally. I have heard figures that seem unbelievable. There is very little recourse for them. The majority of rapes are by non-native men. > > A discussion of the problem in Montana in High Country News: > [Native American women still have the highest rates of rape and assault - High Country News](https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-why-native-american-women-still-have-the-highest-rates-of-rape-and-assault) > > report by Amnesty International (.pdf) > [https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/mazeofinjustice.pdf](https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/mazeofinjustice.pdf) Wow. So, the suggestion is that men target native women on reservations, because they know that they are outside the jurisdiction of any criminal justice system? The native system can’t prosecute because they are non-native, and the state can’t prosecute because it happened on a reservation? Sheeeet. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/23 "2018-08-09T18:21:54Z")
The map showing rape incidence per capita looks astonishingly similar to a map showing the population concentration of Native Americans (Alaska 1st, South Dakota 2nd, New Mexico 3rd, etc.): > **[List: States where rape is most common | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/opinion/sutter-alaska-rape-list/index.html)** > > Read the list of states and Washington, D.C., starting with those where rape is least frequently reported -- and ending with Alaska. > **[Modern social statistics of Native Americans | Location and lands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_social_statistics_of_Native_Americans#Location_and_lands)** > > The Native American population is not evenly spread across the nation. The greatest proportion live in the western regions of the United States, specifically 43%. The remainder live in the south, 31%, the midwest, 17%, and the northeast, 9%. This statistic demonstrates how the Native American population is concentrated into few general areas. This is further proven by the fact that over half of Native Americans live within ten states. In 2000, the states with the largest Native American popul Nat... ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/24 "2018-08-09T18:57:59Z")
It’s hard to see how any of the factors posited so far explain Cleveland, Minneapolis, Memphis, and the other really high numbers. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/25 "2018-08-09T18:59:29Z")
It’s not just rape: if [this site](http://www.city-data.com/city/Anchorage-Alaska.html) is to be believed, Anchorage is a crime-ridden hell-hole. I’ve heard that some Alaskans jokingly refer to it as “Los Anchorage.” ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/26 "2018-08-09T19:21:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Are there any stats on the proportion of rapists who are natives? The FBI had a supplement to the UCR about rape in Alaska that said most suspects in rape of Eskimo women are also Eskimos. I can’t get the report to open so I don’t know the percentage. The report does say that the vast majority of offenders are known by the victim. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/27 "2018-08-09T19:26:07Z")
[quote=“senoy, post:7, topic:819319”] Northern, rural{/quote] Anchorage? > [@](#): > > high Native American population 8% Native. With 8% Asian, 5% black. It’s a pretty diverse place. > [@](#): > > gender imbalance 50.8% male. Whether that’s statistically different from 50.0% is one thing, but it’s not a mining town bar. > [@](#): > > difficulty of prosecutions, large number of itinerant workers, not enough law enforcement, more masculine infused culture, long nights with lots of alcohol abuse, communities where rape has become culturally expected due to inherent power imbalances. Basically, it’s no one thing, but rather a perfect storm. Are these all things? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/28 "2018-08-09T19:33:37Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > It’s not just rape: if [this site](http://www.city-data.com/city/Anchorage-Alaska.html) is to be believed, Anchorage is a crime-ridden hell-hole. This would have been my answer. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/29 "2018-08-09T20:06:58Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > It’s not just rape: if [this site](http://www.city-data.com/city/Anchorage-Alaska.html) is to be believed, Anchorage is a crime-ridden hell-hole. I’ve heard that some Alaskans jokingly refer to it as “Los Anchorage.” Yikes. Looks like most crime rates have almost doubled since 2002. And population definitely hasn’t doubled. So, the question really isn’t rape, it’s crime in general and what’s happened in the last 20 years? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/30 "2018-08-09T20:10:52Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Yikes. Looks like most crime rates have almost doubled since 2002. And population definitely hasn’t doubled. So, the question really isn’t rape, it’s crime in general and what’s happened in the last 20 years? Crack? Meth? Opiates? Lots of crime is tied, one way or another, to illegal drug abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319/31 "2018-08-09T20:13:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Are there any stats on the proportion of rapists who are natives? Sadly, it’s often a family member. Meth is a problem in Anchorage, as are opioids and other addictive substances. Many Native villages vote themselves dry and make it a serious crime to bring alcohol in or to make it on site, but it remains a problem. Alaska attracts a substantial number of end-of-the-roaders and people who think they can just show up and get a job. Unemployment is at 7% in Anchorage and much worse in smaller towns. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-rapes-in-anchorage-alaska/819319.md?page=1)