Column: Domestic abuse an unfortunate part of life in rural Alaska

Wednesday, February 2, 2011  

"Given my background of working with abused and neglected kids and their (usually) highly dysfunctional families, the issues raised by Gov. Parnell concerning domestic violence in Alaska are near and dear to my heart. I've dealt with too many children whose idea of a normal family argument involves one parent beating on another parent and then turning on them. I've dealt with way too many children, both male and female, whose parents expressed their "love" through shameful, painful acts performed in drunken secrecy.

The last time I wrote about this, I was taken to task for assuming that men were always the perpetrators of abuse since women abuse too. While this is true, what is also true is that abusers are overwhelmingly men and the victims are overwhelmingly women and children. Sorry if this offends someone's sense of political correctness, but those are simply the facts.

Which brings me back to the point I've raised before and feel needs raising again. If most men find abusing women and children to be abhorrent to their morals and principles, then why aren't we hearing from them? We hear from Gov. Parnell. Good for him. But where is the chorus of strong male leadership figures who should be surrounding him and pledging to do their part to end this cycle of violence that is crippling so many of Alaska's families?

I know a lot of men who abuse their wives and children. It comes with the territory when you do the kind of work I've done. It also comes with the territory when you live in Bush Alaska. The villages are small and it's hard not to notice the women who come to work on Monday morning with black eyes and bruises."

Get the Story:
Elise Patkotak: Abuse fight needs more than talk (The Anchorage Daily News 2/2)

Column: Combat violence against women by looking at abusers (10/6)