The Wasilla Rape Kit Issue Definitively Answered

Yes, she did know and she did nothing about it. One unconfirmed anectodal reference reports a victim who said that when she was unable to pay and her insurance wouldn’t pay that Wasilla garnished her Permanent Fund check to pay the fee as well. Could it be that those nasty rape kits included EC (Emergency Contraception?) Oh how naughty of me to suspect that might have been an underlying problem with Sarah's willingness to fund evidence collection. Yes, Sarah, the quote is actually, "there is a special place in hell for women that DO NOT HELP OTHER WOMEN".

Alaska had to ban this practice in order to qualify for funding under the Violence Against Women Act, which was, of course, sponsored by Joe Biden. Governor Knowles attention and special legislation (unanimous, I might add) was required to prohibit by state law Wasilla’s failure to stop this practice. Palin was in office, and she appointed the police chief who maintained this stance. The Wasilla PD was contacted and asked to stop the practice and refused. Palin was given every opportunity as mayor to correct this and did not. The police chief she appointed insisted in the media, even up to the signing of the bill that this practice was far better than "burdening the taxpayers".

This new video produced by a group calling themselves "The Wasilla Project" should put to rest the myth that Sarah Palin did not know of the practice of Wasilla charging sexual assault victims for their own evidence collection (i.e. rape kits).

This is also directly from legistative testimony on the state legislation that was required to correct this disgusting practice:

(Lauree Hugonen, then Executive Director, Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault quoted in the testimony)

"She emphasized that it is incomprehensible that the victim should have to relive the crime upon receiving a bill for the assault exam from his/her insurance company. Just as Mr. Smith had testified, billings have not come from police agencies but have come from hospitals...these charges occur as a result of hospital accounting procedures. The range of costs can be from between $300- $1000 dollars. The direct charges usually result from the accounting procedures at the hospitals and not the law enforcement agencies. She noted that there has been some difficulty in Mat-Su, Anchorage, Kenai and Sitka and possibly in Bethel. She was not aware of other parts of the State where there was a problem. Ms. Hugonin advised that this problem is not on going and pervasive, but that it does occur more than sporadically."

So, the police department instructs the hospitals to bill the victim or their insurance companies directly, under the policies and beliefs of Police Chief Fannon, a Palin appointee, and under Wasilla budget directives that Palin personally signed off on.

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