Participants in the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women spoke about violence against indigenous women around the world.

Mirna Cunningham, a former Nicaraguan government minister, said women of the Miskita Tribe who go to work in Honduras are raped every year by Honduran soldiers and farmers. She said indigenous women throughout Latin America face violence at higher rates than other women.

Celeste McKay, a Metis woman from Canada, said indigenous women ages 25 to 44 are five times more likely than non-indigenous women to die as a result of violence. She said more 500 indigenous women have died over the past 20 years due to violence of a sexual nature.

The conference is concluding in Washington, D.C., today.

Get the Story:
UN: Indigenous Women Victims of Violence (AP 3/11)

Relevant Links:
Commission on the Status of Women - http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues - http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/

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