Federal law prevents some convicted domestic abusers from owning a gun, depending on their relationship to the victim. The new gun safety bill would expand that definition to include dating partners.
Sexual Abuse & Domestic Violence
Legislature modernizes 40-year-old definition of consent in sexual assault cases
“Alaska took a gargantuan step forward in updating our laws,” said John Skidmore, deputy attorney general for the Criminal Division of the Alaska Department of Law.
Former Homer resident kidnapped and murdered woman missing since 2019, police say
The charges are the first public explanation of what happened to Anesha “Duffy” Murnane since she went missing.
Juneau advocates renew call to protect Indigenous people from violence: ‘We will look after each other’
Alaska’s new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative lead investigator Anne Sears spoke to hundreds of advocates for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People gathered in front of the Capitol in Juneau.
New provision of Violence Against Women Act empowers tribal governments to exercise jurisdiction on tribal land
The bill establishes a pilot program for tribes to exercise what’s called special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction.
City of Nome pays $750K settlement and apologizes to woman after police mishandled her 2017 rape case
The city of Nome has settled a lawsuit with a former police dispatcher after officers mishandled her sexual assault report, her attorneys announced today.
Biden reauthorizes Violence Against Women Act empowering tribes to prosecute non-Native perpetrators
The Violence Against Women Act focuses on domestic violence and sexual assault survivor programs.
‘Out of the Wilderness’ chronicles Papa Pilgrim’s abuse and his daughter’s escape
Elishaba Doerksen’s new book explains how she escaped despite being shuttered away in the wilderness near McCarthy.
Senate bill would expand power of up to 30 Alaska tribal courts
Tribes in the pilot program would be able to try and sentence anyone who commits domestic violence, rape or related crimes in their villages, even if the offender is non-Native.
Senators offer bill to renew Violence Against Women Act, with a section honoring an Alaska murder victim
Previous efforts to renew the Violence Against Women Act got bogged down in a controversy over guns.