Victims Pay for Rape in Many Ways Under Palin
As reported on US News & World Report, The Huffington Post and Feministe, the Wasilla police department changed their policy under the Sarah Palin mayoral administration to charge rape victims for the cost of their rape kits. Police Chief Charlie Fannon, who replaced the former chief of police when Palin fired him for not supporting her, decided to eliminate rape kits from the budget. Chief Fannon felt that the good people of Wasilla already had too high a tax burden, and forcing rape victims to pay for their own evidence gathering would save the town between $5,000 and $14,000 per year.
Of course, this makes perfect sense if you believe that rape victims asked for it. I mean, if women are going to go out wearing short skirts or tight pants, what do they expect? Or if they go out alone at all. Or if they stay home alone and someone breaks in. Thank goodness Palin hired a person who cares so much about the community.
The upshot of this policy is that the state of Alaska passed a law barring local law enforcement from charging rape victims for their rape kits. How many towns had this policy in place? One. That would be Wasilla, under the “leadership” of Sarah Palin. Who objected to the new law? Chief Charlie Fannon, complaining that the town would need to increase its budget to cover the cost of these routine law enforment procedures. Yes, that Palin sure has women’s best interests in mind.
[Contributor Suzanne Reisman is also at CUSS and other Rants, and BlogHer Feminism and Gender]
