Strengthening Tribal Response to
Violence Against Native Women
Please Note: The grant period for this project ended in July 2020. This project was initially funded by Grant No. 2017-TA-AX-K073, awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including and without limitations, its content, technical infrastructure, policies, and any services or tools provided).
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ARTICLES AND REPORTS
There is an unfortunate lack of reliable data on the problem of sex trafficking in Indian country. This lack of reliable data is tied to the limited amount of methodologically sound research, articles, and reports on the topic. However, the limited Native-specific research that has been done, and anecdotal evidence, suggest that Native women and girls are overrepresented in the sex industry and that sex trafficking disproportionately impacts Native women and girls.
A report on the commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian/Alaska Native women and girls in Minnesota, including sex trafficking. In 2006, the Legislature passed Minnesota Statute section 299A.79 requiring the Commissioner of Public Safety to develop a plan to address current human trafficking and prevent future sex trafficking in Minnesota.(2009)
The study provides powerful personal accounts of violence, poverty, survival, and strength by Native women themselves. The study authors stress that these women’s strengths as well as their vulnerabilities must be seen in the context of a history of systematic harm to Native people, racism, poverty, and a lack of housing, healthcare, job, and education opportunities. (2011)
Produced in partnership with St. Paul- based Othayonih Research and funded by the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, it is the first-of-its-kind study to examine the overall market structure of juvenile sex trafficking as it functions within one city. The project combines interviews, analysis of police data, and a media review. (2014)
This Article details the historical and legal context of sex trafficking from its origin among the colonial predecessors of the US and documents the commercial trafficking of Native women over several centuries. (2010)
This Article argues that because of its historical and ongoing investments in settler colonialism, the Canadian state has long been complicit and continues to be complicit in the human trafficking of indigenous women and girls in Canada. This article pays particular attention to the Canadian state’s uses of law to enable the trafficking of indigenous women and girls (and indigenous peoples, generally). (2015)
The report--by the International Human Rights Clinic at Willamette University College of Law focuses specifically on Native populations within Oregon. It’s focus is one of a human rights legal fact-finding report that sets out to measure whether federal, state, and local government officials are meeting their obligations under international, national, and state law in prosecuting traffickers, protecting survivors, and preventing trafficking as it involves the Native population in Oregon. (2014)
Creating A Human Trafficking Strategic Plan: To Protect and Heal Native Children and Youth
Created by The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges --This worksheet walks through several questions that prompt participants to make a plan that is in alignment with the needs and abilities of the community. Some things your community will be able to work on immediately. Others will take more time and might give ideas for potential grant applications or other funding requests for the future. Still others will require coordination with non-Native communities and agencies. (2015)
In 2010, large deposits of oil and natural gas were found in the Bakken shale formation, much of which is encompassed by the Fort Berthold Indian reservation, home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (“MHA Nation” or “Three Affiliated Tribes” or “the Tribe”). This paper begins by describing the intersection of sex trafficking and oil and gas development on the Fort Berthold reservation. Next, the paper describes the jurisdictional regime within federal Indian law and other barriers to law enforcement that have created a situation ripe for trafficking and other crime on the Fort Berthold reservation. Third, the paper will examine strategies to address this complex issue including: corporate engagement of relevant companies, tribal capacity and coalition building, and remedies contained in the Violence Against Women Act of 2014. This paper asserts that all of the stakeholders involved in oil development on the Fort Berthold reservation – federal, state, tribal, and public and private companies – must work cooperatively to decisively eliminate sex trafficking of Native women and children. (2016)
NON-NATIVE RESOURCES
This issue of the UCLA Law Review is completely focused on trafficking issues and was created in conjunction with their 2015 Symposium "Examining the Roots of Human Trafficking and Exploitation."
Articles include:
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Discussing the problem of human sex trafficking of children and youth in the United States and the response and resources that they may need.
This website provides useful information onf sex trafficking as it relates to children and youth. Some of the resources available include:
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Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC): What Schools Need to Know to Understand and Respond to Human Trafficking: (Powerpoint Presentataion)
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Human Trafficking 101 for School Administrators and Staff (Informational flyer from the Blue Campaign, U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
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Human Trafficking of Children in the United States- A Fact Sheet for Schools (Fact sheet created by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education)
Trafficking Policy Research Project
This site collects research and commentary regarding the impact of United States Trafficking Laws and Policies in the United States and internationally.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Sex Trafficking--A Gender-Based Civil Rights violation
This briefing report was created after a panel of experts briefed members of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (“Commission”) on April 13, 2012, to examine the federal government’s response to this issue of human trafficking from a gender-based discrimination perspective. The panelists discussed how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) does not list trafficking as a major crime category, how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) does not collect statistics on the scope of trafficking, and how difficult it is to collect and track accurate data on the prevalence of sex trafficking of minors versus adults. Based on that discussion, the Commission developed the findings and recommendations that are included in this report.
Among its findings, the Commission notes that the definitions of what is sex trafficking differ among United States executive agencies and state and local law enforcement authorities. Testimony showed that sex trafficking is clearly a violation of gender-based civil and human rights that enslaves women and girls in commercial sex and is rooted in gender-based discrimination. The Commission also noted that testimony showed that sex trafficking also enslaves men and boys, particularly gay and transgender individuals, in commercial sex and is discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and is also rooted in social exclusion.
The Commission recommends that a model state law on trafficking be developed.
The Commission also recommends that the federal government develop standard definitions of “sex trafficking” and related terms with input from involved federal agencies, state and local law enforcement entities, and the advocacy and scholarly sectors. In addition, the Commission suggests that the FBI should list trafficking as a major crime category; and HHS should collect statistics on the scope of trafficking, including a percentage of victims.,