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).
VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIVE WOMEN STATISTICS AND STUDIES
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56.1% of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women have experienced sexual violence and 55.5% have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner. National Institute of Justice Research Report: Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men. U.S. Department of Justice (2016). Available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249736.pdf (accessed March 2, 2017)
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AI/AN women suffer domestic violence and physical assaults at rates higher than any other ethnicity. Brief for National Network to End Domestic Violence, et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents at 2, Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., 128 S. Ct. 2709 (2008) (No. 07-411); 2 Steven W Perry, American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile 1992-2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, December 2004. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=386 (accessed February 27, 2017); see also Tjaden, P. & Thonennes. (2000). The Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: findings from the National Violence Survey Against Women. National Institute of Justice & the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles1/nij/183781.txt (accessed February 27, 2017)
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In Alaska, Native women and children are at disproportionate risk for experiencing crimes of rape, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse. Children experience crimes of child sexual abuse at a rate six times greater than the national average, and Alaska consistently has one of the top five highest rates of this crime (Standing Together Against Rape, 2017).
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An estimated 24.5% of American Indian/Alaska Native women experienced stalking during their lifetimes. Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization — National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011
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In Alaska, in November 2017, there were 48 police departments that reported a total of 3,484 sexual assault kits in their possession that had never been submitted to the crime lab for DNA analysis. These SAKs are from cases ranging from the1980’s through the current year. (FAQ’s for Victim Advocates, Law Enforcement & Other Service Providers: Previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits)
Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men (National Institute of Justice)(May 2016) report examines the prevalence of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men, using a large nationally representative sample from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). More specifically, it provides estimates of sexual violence, physical violence by intimate partners, stalking, and psychological aggression by intimate partners. It also provides estimates of interracial and intraracial victimizations and briefly examines the impact of violence. Results should be used to raise awareness and understanding about violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men.
Break the Silence, (September 2018), a roundtable report on sexual violence within Native American communities. Break the Silence – End Sexual Violence is a community response to ending sexual violence within Native communities. It provides a much faster response time then waiting for Law Enforcement to arrive and lets the perpetrator know that we will no longer stand in silence and allow him to strike again. This program is about healing, about gaining back yourself, moving forward with your life and helping others to do the same.