Anchorage Women's Commission drafts citywide survey of women's concerns

Women in Anchorage will be asked about their major concerns and what issues the city should address. The Anchorage Municipal Women's Commission is drafting the survey and must review it as a full body before launch.

Commission Chair Kristi Traver told the commission at its Thursday meeting that a draft is circulating among two members of the strategic planning committee. "We made the determination that we wanted to get community feedback from women in the municipality about what were their major concerns, what would they want this commission to be focused on addressing through policy recommendations to the municipality," Traver said.

The survey would be followed by listening sessions with targeted demographic groups, Traver said. Frankie Dahl, outreach coordinator for the Health Department's Community Safety and Development Division, is reviewing the draft. Dahl may request added or adjusted questions and has asked to attend some listening sessions.

Traver said a meeting with Emily Bokar, an innovation strategist with the municipality's innovation team, is being scheduled to settle how the survey goes out and what analysis tools the city can provide, rather than the commission fundraising for its own.

The effort follows earlier municipal planning work that identified the need for a survey tool to measure community perception and unreported domestic violence and sexual assault in Anchorage. It also follows state-level Alaska research documenting high rates of sexual violence and intimate partner violence against women. Anchorage women and the domestic violence and sexual assault service providers who would be affected by any priorities the survey surfaces did not speak at the meeting.

Commissioner Beth Fleischer said, "I was just gonna say that your survey was amazing." Traver said cutting it down was a struggle. Every question felt worth keeping, but a lengthy survey would discourage responses. Once committee feedback is in and the commission has talked with the city, the draft goes to the full commission.