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bestbabync -> RE: Palin imposed fees on sexual assault victims. (9/18/2008 8:38:19 AM)
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as i posted before, part of my job is acting as an advocate for rape victims. i do not work in wasilla, alaska, but i do know that this issue is a nationwide problem and over 8 years old! back then almost all cities & states were working toward passing a compensation bill for all crime victims. my state finally created 2 programs, 1 for victims of crime and the other solely for victims of rape. both programs compensated the victims for ALL expenses and the rape victim program pays all medical expenses including rape kits. my county has a SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) that works with the victim to cover the cost of the investigation/rape kit. but this is only done if the victim reports the rape to the police. so if she does not report the crime, she pays for her rape kit and all other medical expenses. this stipulation, reporting the crime to the police, is in the state & federal bills.
just as the nurse stated in the post below, these programs & sexual assault teams are all new! wasilla, alaska is NOT the only city or police department to not pay for the rape kit. there were more that did not pay, than did. this was a decision made by city government. the city i worked for back then passed the bill for the rape kit to the victim and had been doing so for years & years.
http://www.aardvarc.org/victim/compensation.shtml
http://www.undyingwill.com/victims-rights.html
http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2000/05/23/news.txt
nurse in texas wrote on Sep 10, 2008 5:23 PM:
" You people on here throwing rocks at Palin and Wasilla DO KNOW that it has only been in the last few years that states have not charged for rape kits? Check VAMA 2005. To this day, there are MANY cities in MANY states that DO charge for rape kits, especially if the victim does not file a police statement.
Go check your own cities and states and see whats really going on, especially if your state is one of those who has let thousands of rape tests sit without being tested, before you go off on your high horses " this poster is correct. most local government did NOT pay for rape kits or medical expenses. i gather from articles written in 2000, Governor Palin followed the advice of the Wasilla Police Chief. filing the cost of the rape kit on private insurance was found to be illegal, and that was the practice in many hospitals across the country. i will admit, it does not seem fair but at the time all state & federal legislatures were in the process of filling this gap. Governor Palin did not go against the grain by billing the taxpayer. not ideal but it was normal procedure until something better came along.
edited to take out an incomplete sentence
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