We Are Failing to Protect Indigenous Women in the U.S. from Sexual Violence

This April, Amnesty International released a study on the prevalence of sexual abuse of Native American women, and how the U.S. is failing to protect them. What follows is a summary of the findings from their report.

The General Situation:

According to Justice Department figures, American Indian and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women in the United States in general. Amnesty International found that this is probably a gross underestimate. Here are its findings:

More than 86% of the perpetrators are non-natives.

Because of a number of factors, when they are sexually assaulted, many Native American women:
* Do not get a timely - or any - response from police.
* May not get forensic medical examinations.
* May never see their cases prosecuted.

What are some of these factors?


(image by Donald Montileaux)

1. The United States government has created a complex maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions, and in some cases jurisdictional vacuums, that often allow perpetrators to rape with impunity.

2. The U.S. government has undermined the authority of tribal justice systems by consistently under-funding them.

3. Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities lack trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) to provide forensic exams, which increases the potential for mishandling evidence.

4. State and federal governments often do not pursue cases of sexual violence against Native women involving non-Indian perpetrators. Once a case is denied at the state or federal level, there is no further recourse for survivors of rape under criminal law.

According to one former federal prosecutor, "It is hard to prosecute cases where there is a Native American victim and a non-Native American perpetrator."

The situation on the Standing Rock Reservation

* The Reservation covers 2.3 million acres in North and South Dakota and is patrolled by the Standing Rock Police Department (SRPD). As of February 2006, the department had 6 to 7 patrol officers and 2 investigators.

* Sometimes only 1 officer is on duty for the entire Reservation. Women may wait hours or even days to receive a response from the SRPD, if they receive one at all.

* Many survivors reported that they had experienced sexual violence several times at the hands of different perpetrators.

* Serious barriers to reporting sexual assaults and undergoing forensic examination exist. Some women must travel more than an hour to get to the IHS hospital in Fort Yates, where they may find that no one on staff can conduct a sexual assault forensic exam. The women may then have to go to a medical facility in Bismarck, 80 miles away, where there can be long delays. In this case, they often leave without an exam. If a woman is sent to a non-IHS facility she may initially be charged for the service.

The world is watching now, thanks to Amnesty and the netroots.

The Pretty Bird Woman House makes a significant difference in the lives of the women on the reservation because of all of this. Before PBWH lost its house, it was sheltering victims of domestic violence, but the staff also provides court advocacy for women, making sure that these cases get to court.

This is why any contribution you can make is truly significant to this project. The shelter is only going into its 3rd year of operation, but it has become an important change agent. When we help this project, we facilitate this change.


The Standing Rock Reservation