Fort Wainwright advocates say domestic abuse goes beyond physical violence

Fort Wainwright's domestic abuse advocates are using Domestic Violence Awareness Month to remind people that abuse isn't only physical. It can include emotional manipulation, financial control, digital abuse and threats involving pets, the Army said in an announcement Friday.

The post's Family Advocacy Program will staff a booth at the main Exchange from 11 am to 1 pm Oct. 23 and Oct. 30. Advocates help people recognize concerns, connect with confidential resources and decide what to do next, the Army said.

"Our main goal is to make sure that we can provide the resources that they need, so they can make their own decisions," said Toney Price, a domestic abuse victim advocate on the team with Susan Hesser.

Program specialist Eldotha Fields said the team wants to spotlight survivors as well as "those people that we might have lost to domestic violence."

The program's 24/7 victim advocacy hotline, 907-799-9770, serves Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely, according to the installation's support services page. Victims can make a restricted report, which doesn't involve their command or law enforcement, or an unrestricted report, which starts the full investigative process.

Across the military, Family Advocacy programs received 14,799 reports of domestic abuse in the 2024 fiscal year, and 8,076 incidents met the Defense Department's definition of abuse, according to the department's annual report to Congress. Physical abuse made up about two-thirds of those incidents and emotional abuse about a quarter. A third of the victims were men, and 45% were civilians. The counts don't include restricted reports, which are kept separately.

In Alaska, about 7 in 10 adult women have experienced intimate partner abuse in their lifetime when psychological aggression and coercive control are counted along with physical violence, according to the 2020 Alaska Victimization Survey. The University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center conducts the survey with funding from the state Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

The Fort Wainwright team also works with off-post groups, including Fairbanks Native Association, to extend resources into rural Alaska, the Army said.