Kawerak has coordinated a $38,295 donation to the City of Nome alongside partners Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) and Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC), to ensure the timely and appropriate investigation of the backlog of sexual assault cases.
Public Safety remains a priority for Kawerak and the Board of Directors and addressing these cases and future cases in a timely manner is essential, In 2019, the Nome Police Department (NPD) saw a 7% increase in cases and responded to 88 reports of sexual assault. To add to these numbers, City Manager Glen Steckman reported NPD has seen a spike in in sexual assaults during the COVID-19 pandemic with 98 cases logged as of September 14th.
Currently, the State of Alaska’s Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory conducts the DNA testing from Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) and also has a backlog of kits to be processed. Results from SAKs can take a year to be completed, stalling the criminal justice process long after the crime has been reported. A year is an unacceptable amount of time for sexual assault survivors to wait.
To speed up these investigations, BODE Technology, a Virginia lab often utilized by the State for urgent cases, will process Nome accumulated SAKs for $38,295.
Kawerak reached out to Norton Sound Health Corporation and Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation and garnered support from each, $14,147.50 and $10,000 respectively. NSHC CEO Angie Gorn stated “For more than a decade, NSHC has been collaborating with numerous regional partners to build a system which encourages victims of sexual assault to report because they have the confidence that follow through will be in place and justice will be served. NSHC will continue to advocate and is proud to be part of this community effort, to ensure adequate resources are available to meet the ongoing needs of our patients.”
Kawerak President Melanie Bahnke authorized Kawerak to contribute the remaining $14,147.50 stating “All victims of sexual abuse deserve justice, and perpetrators need to be held accountable. We are providing this contribution to help move sexual assault cases forward to resolution for the victims, and we will continue to advocate for justice.”
