Murder and Rape of Indigenous Women and Women in General

I recently read an article on violence against women, but especially indigenous women. Although we are 22 years into the 21^st Century,  American women continue to be raped and/or murdered at a very high rate. However, as much as they are suffering, their plight pales when compared with attacks against native American women. Thankfully, a federal bill was updated, improved, and reauthorized back in 2013. More on that later in this article.

How much more likely are Native women to be murdered?  Indigenous Women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than all other ethnicities!

• Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous Women (Centers for Disease Control).
• More than 4 out of 5 Indigenous Women have experienced violence (84.3%) (National Institute of Justice Report).
• More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults (83 percent) have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime.
• Slightly more than 1 in 3 Native American Women [34 percent] are raped in their lifetimes.

Who is committing these crimes?

Although the exact number of victimizations per person is unknown, it is clear that most American Indian and Alaska Native victims have experienced at least one act of violence committed by a perpetrator who is not an Indian (97 percent of women and 90 percent of men). Fewer victims (35 percent of women and 33 percent of men) have experienced one or more acts of violence by an American Indian or Alaska Native perpetrator.

These statistics illustrate the need for the sovereign right of federally recognized tribes to criminally prosecute non-Indian perpetrators. Until this bill was updated 9 years ago, federally recognized tribes did not have this authority, even for crimes committed on tribal lands. This gap in jurisdictional authority provided immunity to non-Indian perpetrators and compromised the safety of tribal communities.

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 partially corrected this problem by providing special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction to federally recognized tribes. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that women in general, are victims of numerous assaults and murders. In 2013, the following federal bill was updated and reauthorized.

REAUTHORIZING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT: KEY PROVISIONS

While tremendous progress has been made since the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was first enacted, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are still significant problems facing women, families, and communities.

• Domestic violence causes 3 deaths a day to women
• 1 out of 4 women have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner.
• 1 out of 5 women were raped in their lifetimes.

The VAWA bill, signed into law by President Obama, made targeted expansions to address the needs of especially vulnerable populations. Here are the Key Provisions.

• Researchers estimate that for every woman killed in a domestic violence homicide, nine more are nearly killed.
• The bill integrates screening for homicide risks throughout existing VAWA programs and requires states to develop goals and activities to reduce domestic violence homicides.
• Native American women suffer from one of the highest rates of domestic violence. The bill closes gaps in jurisdiction and recognizes the authority of tribes to prosecute domestic violence crimes against Indian and non-Indian perpetrators
• The bill addresses high rates of dating violence and sexual assault on college campuses by requiring colleges and universities to provide information to students about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and inform students and staff about the number of these crimes that occur on and near campus.
• Colleges will be required to create and disseminate policies describing the protections, resources, and services available to victims to help them safely continue their education.
• Sexual assault is one of the most underreported violent crimes in the country, and victims often suffer long term physical and emotional trauma.
• The bill creates state grant funding for law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim services to work together to respond to these crimes and helps law enforcement agencies tackle their backlog of rape kits.
• The bill addresses the high rates of dating violence and sexual assault experienced by teens and young adults. The bill will help schools, youth organizations, and domestic violence agencies work more effectively with youth and engage young people in stopping violence before it starts.

Although we’ve seen tremendous progress over the years reference opportunities for women, and women’s rights, it’s very said to learn that some things never change. I wish I could come up with a solution, but I don’t have one.