Sexual victimization of Native American women

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Native American women encounter a disproportionate level of sexual violence from verbal abuse to physical harm, including but not limited to domestic and sexual assaults. Such violations not only result in lasting detrimental effects on the individuals subjected to them but also reverberate throughout their entire community, exacerbating social challenges. [1]

Contents

One proposal emphasizes the reinstatement of tribal authority in the prosecution of crimes committed within Indigenous territories, a strategy intended to foster accountability and justice within the community. Advocates are lobbying for legislative amendments to ensure that non-Indigenous men are held responsible under local or national laws. [2]

Statistics

Amnesty International's "Maze of Injustice" Report

Amnesty International, in its report "Maze of Injustice: The failure to protect indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA", presented survivors' voices of sexual violence. [3] This research, conducted in 2005 and 2006 across the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Oklahoma, and Alaska, involved interviews with victims, tribal, state, and federal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and tribal judges. The report highlighted the widespread fear among Indigenous women that their assaults would go unaddressed, leading to low reporting rates. [3]

Pursuing justice for these women often means navigating a maze of tribal, state, and federal law, where jurisdictional queries delay or even prevent cases from being heard. The report identifies several factors contributing to these injustices, including lack of training and inadequate response by police officers, underfunding of justice systems, federal restrictions on tribal courts' authority, and systemic discrimination. The 1978 Oliphant v. Suquamish case, which prohibits tribal courts from prosecuting non-Native suspects, further complicates the matter. [3]

National Institute of Justice Research Report

A 2016 report released by the National Institute of Justice, collected data from 3,978 American Indian and Alaska Natives (2,473 women and 1,505 men), and found that more than half of the surveyed women had experienced sexual violence at some point. Specifically, 56.1% reported experiencing sexual violence during their lifetime, and 14.4% had experienced such violence in the year preceding the survey. [4] The report also indicated high rates of physical violence perpetrated by intimate partners, with 55.5% of female respondents reporting having experienced this form of violence in their lifetime. In the year before the survey, 8.6% of women reported having been victims of intimate partner violence. [4]

National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey

These findings[ which? ] from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) highlight the violence experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native adults. [5] The reported figures reveal that 83 percent of these individuals, or almost 3 million people, have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime. This violence ranges from psychological aggression to physical violence by intimate partners, stalking, or sexual violence. Both women and men in these communities are victimized at similar rates, with rates of 84.3 percent for women and 81.6 percent for men.[ failed verification ] However, women experience significantly higher rates of sexual violence and stalking compared to men.

In terms of lifetime victimization, American Indian and Alaska Native women experience 1.2 times as much victimization as Caucasian women, while men from these communities experience victimization at a rate 1.3 times higher than Caucasian men. More than two in five American Indian and Alaska Native female victims reported physical injuries as a result of this violence, and almost half needed services, most commonly medical care and legal services. More than a third were unable to receive these services. Most victims of violence experienced at least one act of violence committed by someone of a different race.[ citation needed ] This rate is 97 percent for women and 90 percent for men, while fewer victims experienced violence by an American Indian or Alaska Native. This supports the call for the sovereign right of federally recognized tribes to prosecute non-Indian individuals for crimes committed on tribal lands,[ neutrality is disputed ] a right that had been denied until recently. [6]

Federal efforts

The Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program

The Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program (TSASP), managed by the U.S. Department of Justice, is an initiative to improve and expand services for victims of sexual assault within tribal communities. The scope of the program is quite broad, covering both Indian Country and Alaska Native villages. [7] TSASP projects are designed to provide direct services to victims of sexual assault, such as crisis intervention, accompaniment through medical and legal proceedings, counseling, and other supportive services. The program also aims to enhance the ability of tribes, tribal organizations, and nonprofit tribal organizations to respond to the needs of sexual assault victims effectively and sensitively. [7]

Funding from the program can also be used for developing and enhancing culturally appropriate and trauma-informed strategies and services. The aim is not only to provide immediate assistance to victims but also to create a systemic change within the tribal communities to better address sexual assault and its aftermath. [7] In addition to direct services, TSASP promotes coordination among tribal, federal, and state law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to ensure an effective response to sexual assault incidents within tribal jurisdiction. The ultimate goal of the program is to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence within tribal communities and to improve access to justice and healing services for victims. [7]

U.S. Department of Justice Report

Then, in response to the levels of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking experienced by Native American women, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has initiated a number of measures to enhance the federal response to these crimes and support tribal efforts to ensure the safety of Native women. [8]

A 2004 DOJ report that used data from 1992-2002, found that people indigenous to the Americas ages 12 and older experience 5,900 sexual assaults per year. The report also found that Native peoples in the United States are twice as likely to experience rape/sexual assault compared to all other races. [9]

Almost half of all Native American women have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, and one in three Indian women will experience the trauma of rape at some point in her life. Additionally, the murder rate of Native American women on some reservations exceeds the national average by over ten times. [8] To combat this trend, the DOJ launched an initiative on public safety in tribal communities, directed U.S. Attorneys to prioritize violence against women in Indian Country, and added 28 new Indian Country Assistant U.S. Attorneys in 2010 to increase the prosecution of serious crimes. [8]

A Violence Against Women Federal/Tribal Prosecution Task Force was established to assist in the development of best practice recommendations and resource materials concerning the prosecution of violence against women crimes in Indian Country. The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) created a national clearinghouse on the sexual assault of Native women and implemented the SAFESTAR Project to address the collection and preservation of sexual assault evidence in rural and geographically isolated tribal communities. [8]

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) supports efforts to enhance American Indian and Alaska Native communities' capacity to provide services for victims of sexual assault through the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner–Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE-SART) Initiative. To assist in providing accurate data for Indian tribal governments, OVW released a solicitation for the National Tribal Protection Order Registry Initiative. The OVW also announced the selection of four tribes for a Violence Against Women Tribal Special U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Initiative, which aims to increase the likelihood that every viable violence against women criminal offense is prosecuted. [8]

Recognizing the complexities of the legal framework for criminal jurisdiction in Indian country, the DOJ has formally recommended new Federal legislation to better protect women in tribal communities from violent crime. Proposed amendments to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) include reaffirming tribal criminal jurisdiction over certain non-Indian offenders and clarifying tribal civil authority to issue and enforce protection orders. In partnership with tribal governments, the OVW continues to work towards decreasing violence against Native American women, strengthening the capacity of tribal governments to respond to these crimes, and ensuring the accountability of perpetrators. [8]

Organizations

Organizations dedicated to addressing sexual victimization as well as gender-based violence against Native Americans include:

See also

Victims:

Related Research Articles

A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, assault, rape and assassination, as well as crimes in which violence is used as a method of coercion or show of force, such as robbery, extortion and terrorism. Violent crimes may, or may not, be committed with weapons. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may be regarded with varying severities from homicide to harassment. There have been many theories regarding heat being the cause of an increase in violent crime. Theorists claim that violent crime is persistent during the summer due to the heat, further causing people to become aggressive and commit more violent crime.

Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence Against Women Act</span> United States crime legislation

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and the prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress when prosecutors chose not to prosecute cases. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office on Violence Against Women</span> US government agency

The United States Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created following the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. The Act was renewed in 2005, 2013 and again in 2022. The Violence Against Women Act legislation requires the Office on Violence Against Women to work to respond to and reduce violence against women in many different areas, including on college campuses and in people's homes. VAWA requires Office on Violence Against Women to administer justice and strengthen services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men; however, since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more attention is being given to male rape, including females raping males.

Statistics on rape and other acts of sexual assault are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.

Domestic violence occurs across the world, in various cultures, and affects people across society, at all levels of economic status; however, indicators of lower socioeconomic status have been shown to be risk factors for higher levels of domestic violence in several studies. In the United States, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 1995, women reported a six times greater rate of intimate partner violence than men. However, studies have found that men are much less likely to report victimization in these situations.

Rape in the United States is defined by the United States Department of Justice as "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." While definitions and terminology of rape vary by jurisdiction in the United States, the FBI revised its definition to eliminate a requirement that the crime involve an element of force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic violence in the United States</span>

Domestic violence is a form of violence that occurs within a domestic relationship. Although domestic violence often occurs between partners in the context of an intimate relationship, it may also describe other household violence, such as violence against a child, by a child against a parent or violence between siblings in the same household. In the United States, it is recognized as an important social problem by governmental and non-governmental agencies, and various Violence Against Women Acts have been passed by the US Congress in an attempt to stem this tide.

Violence against men are violent acts that are disproportionately committed against men or boys. Men are overrepresented as both victims and perpetrators of violence. Violence against women is the opposite category, where acts of violence are targeted against the female gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native Americans and reservation inequality</span> Social issue in the U.S.

Native American reservation inequality underlies a range of societal issues that affect the lives of Native American populations residing on reservations in the United States. About one third of the Native American population, about 700,000 people, lives on an Indian Reservation in the United States. Reservation poverty and other discriminatory factors have led to persisting social inequality on Native American reservations. Disparities between many aspects of life at the national level and at the reservation level, such as quality of education, quality of healthcare, substance use disorders, teenage pregnancy, violence, and suicide rates are significant in demonstrating the inequality of opportunities and situations between reservations and the rest of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women</span>

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), also known as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and more broadly as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) or Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), are instances of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States, notably those in the First nations in Canada and Native American communities, but also amongst other Indigenous peoples such as in Australia and New Zealand, and the grassroots movement to raise awareness of MMIW through organizing marches; building databases of the missing; holding local community, city council, and tribal council meetings; and conducting domestic violence trainings and other informational sessions for police.

The feminist pathways perspective is a feminist perspective of criminology which suggests victimization throughout the life course is a key risk factor for women's entry into offending.

Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel while performing their official duties in an abusive and unjustified manner. Police brutality can also include psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.

Suicide among Native Americans in the United States, both attempted and completed, is more prevalent than in any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Among American youths specifically, Native American youths also show higher rates of suicide than American youths of other races. Despite making up only 0.9% of the total United States population, American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) are a significantly heterogeneous group, with 560 federally recognized tribes, more than 200 non-federally recognized tribes, more than 300 languages spoken, and one half or more of them living in urban areas. Suicide rates are likewise variable within AIAN communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual assault of LGBT persons</span>

Sexual assault of LGBT people, also known as sexual and gender minorities (SGM), is a form of violence that occurs within the LGBT community. While sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence can occur in all forms of relationships, it is found that sexual minorities experience it at rates that are equal to or higher than their heterosexual counterparts. There is a lack of research on this specific problem for the LGBT population as a whole, but there does exist a substantial amount of research on college LGBT students who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Violence against women in the United States is the use of domestic abuse, murder, sex-trafficking, rape and assault against women in the United States. It has been recognized as a public health concern. Culture in the United States has led towards the trivialization of violence towards women, with media in the United States possibly contributing to making women-directed violence appear unimportant to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missing and murdered Indigenous women in Utah</span>

The epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) is not exclusive to any region of the United States, but some states have a higher number of cases. Utah ranked 8th in the United States for the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The state's capital, Salt Lake City, was the city with the 9th highest number of cases of MMIW.

Sex trafficking on Native American reservations in the United States began in the 18th century, as the American Revolution with its patterns of relocation, chaos, and conquest of Native American populations, inspired periods of instability for years to come. This instability would then cause cycles of generational trauma which created increased vulnerability to substance abuse, violence, poverty, and child neglect, therefore, increasing their susceptibility to sex trafficking.

Violence against indigenous women often has higher rates than violence against non‐indigenous women.

References

  1. ↑ "Ending Violence Against Native Women | Indian Law Resource Center". indianlaw.org. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  2. ↑ "Tribal Sovereignty – National Alliance to End Sexual Violence" . Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  3. 1 2 3 "Maze of Injustice: the failure to protect indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  4. 1 2 "Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men". National Institute of Justice. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  5. ↑ "Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men: 2010 Findings From the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey". National Institute of Justice. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  6. ↑ "Five Things About Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men". National Institute of Justice. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) | Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Protecting Native American and Alaska Native Women from Violence: November is Native American Heritage Month". www.justice.gov. 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  9. ↑ Perry, Steven. "American Indians and Crime: A BJS Profile, 1992-2002" (PDF). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  10. ↑ "Who We ARe". NIWRC. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Home | WARN: Women of All Red Nations". WARN: Women of All R. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  12. ↑ "End Violence Against Native Women | Mending The Sacred Hoop | Duluth MN". Mending the Sacred Hoop. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
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