Protect the women in our lives

[south central hoon]

think again about your pal Palin:



Sarah Palin and Her Outrageous Rape Kit Policy
September 18, 2008 02:14 PM ET | Bonnie Erbe | Permanent Link

Mountains of controversy are swirling around Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's strange policy of forcing rape victims to pay for their own rape kits while she was mayor of the now-infamous town of Wasilla.

The most interesting take I've found is posted by Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore who relates the following:

I sat with a rape victim during the "harvesting of evidence". Mascara smeared eyes stared blankly out from a cave of shame. "We've got swimmers," announced the forensic tech in the lab next door. My friend didn't look surprised. In her 60's, she was still asked if she felt the need for emergency contraception. Surviving the process would have only been compounded and made worse with an itemized bill; victimized twice courtesy of Sarah Palin and the city of Wasilla.

Much can be learned about the Palin Administration's family values from reviewing their spending priorities. Former Chief of Police Irl Stambaugh included forensic rape kits (up to $1,200 per kit) in his budget requests. He was fired by Palin in 1997. In her termination letter, Palin wrote, "...I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment... " Staumbaugh headed the police department since it was created in 1993. Before that, he served 22 years with the Anchorage Police Department rising to the rank of captain. Sarah Palin hired Charlie Fannon as the new Wasilla Chief of Police and said it was one of her best decisions as mayor. Fannon eliminated the forensic rape kits from the budget. Though the number of rapes weren't reported, Fannon claimed it would save Wasilla taxpayers $5,000 to $14,000 a year.

Palin supporters ought to be taking a much closer look at her record on these types of issues (charging rape victims for evidentiary examinations so their attackers can be brought to trial) than whether she can juggle five children and the vice presidency. This, more than anything, should push women, pro-life and pro-choice, away from the McCain-Palin ticket. It's one thing to oppose abortion on moral grounds. It's quite another to charge crime victims for their own forensic examinations. Such a policy is nothing short of outrageous.

[teamdns]

http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/200 ... in-rumors/


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[AlisoBob]

think again about your pal Palin:

It happens everywhere.....

Rape Victims Can Be Hurt Financially, Too
February 21, 2008 A/P


It's tough enough for rape victims to come forward. Now there's another reason for them to think twice about reporting the crime: They may get stuck with a hefty bill for the rape kit used to collect evidence against their attacker.

Talk about adding insult to injury. In a story last week in the Raleigh News & Observer, reporter Mandy Locke described the situation in North Carolina, where "the vast majority of the 3,000 or so emergency room patients examined for sexual assaults each year shoulder some of the cost of a rape kit test." A state victims compensation fund intended to help cover the bills is woefully underfunded and had capped payouts for the $1,600 test at $1,000. Since Locke's story ran, "The cap has been lifted," says North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety spokesperson Patty McQuillan, though she noted that the legislature would still have to provide the additional funds.

Chalk one up for the power of the press to shine a bright light into dark corners and encourage change. But the News & Observer story made me wonder—just how big and dark is this particular corner? Is this a national phenomenon or is the practice limited to one state?

Turns out experts on sexual assault are all too familiar with the issue. "It's been a problem for a long time," says Ilse Knecht, deputy director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime. "We've heard so many stories of victims paying for their exams, or not being able to and then creditors coming after them." In order to qualify for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act, states have to assume the full out-of-pocket costs for forensic medical exams, as the rape kits are called. But according to a 2004 bulletin published by the NCVC, "[F]eedback from the field indicates that sexual assault victims are still being billed." Knecht says she's recently heard from caseworkers in Illinois, Georgia, and Arkansas reporting that rape victims continue to be charged for their forensic exams.

The rape kit itself generally contains bags to collect clothing, test tubes for collecting blood, swabs for fluid, and a comb to collect pubic hair. Small-change stuff. But exams also involve administering tests for pregnancy, HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis, and that's where the costs add up, says Randall Brown, medical director for the Baton Rouge Rape Crisis Center in Louisiana.

How forensic exam costs are handled varies. In some locations, hospitals bill patients' insurance and absorb whatever the insurers don't pay or bill patients for the balance. Some states have special funds to cover a portion of the costs. Others require convicted offenders to pay into a fund to reimburse the costs of the exams.

No one I spoke with tried to defend the practice of billing rape victims for their exams. Predictably, people cited a host of problems—from bureaucratic inefficiency to chronic underfunding of victim compensation funds—that partially explain but don't excuse it. Ironically, the nature of rape may actually make it more likely that victims will be billed for the evidence-gathering exam. Unlike a break-in, where police gather forensic evidence at the victim's home and send it directly to the crime lab, in rape the victim's body is the scene of the crime. In these cases, "there's a crossover between medical care and forensic care," says Brown.Fair enough. Processing the evidence of a rape is complicated. But unless we can do a better job ensuring that rape victims don't have to pay for that evidentiary exam, we're victimizing them all over again

[iggys-amsoil]

That's Bullshit to charge woman anything for that.

In Palins case, it shows that she is not a Liberal.

[south central hoon]

That's Bullshit to charge woman anything for that.

In Palins case, it shows that she is not a Liberal.

its all good i guess, till its someone in your family, god forbid. where is the applause for that?

[dynodave]

think again about your pal Palin:

Big deal.

[redrocket190]

I'm no fan of Palin, but she deserves to be protected from lies and rumors as much as any other candidate. The same goes for Obama who has a similar list at http://www.scopes.com. The worrying thing is that most of the electorate who run across this kind of stuff, filter it based on their political prejudices and then spam it on. Very few personally take the time to dig deeper and the mainstream has been asleep at the wheel as usual. But hey American Idol meets UFC is so much more fun as a way to pick the Leader of the Free World...

[teemtrubble]

She's not a lawyer, rides bikes and is a member of the NRA with the choices today they have my vote...

[NightBiker07]

when they catch the assailant, make his sick ass pay for the exam.......and i mean MAKE him.

[MrDude_1]

I'm sorry, I didnt know we were in the United States of France.
Of course the government will pay for you. No worries, just be dependant upon the government.