Opinion: Native women deserve protection from their abusers

Friday, May 18, 2012  

"Native women face the highest rate of domestic violence in the United States, nearly 31/2 times the national average.

According to the National Congress of American Indians,34 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in their lifetimes and 39 percent will be subjected to domestic violence. On some reservations, Native women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average.

It is a chilling legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery that more than 80 percent of the time, those who commit violence against indigenous women are nonindigenous.

But tribal courts have no authority to prosecute these nonindigenous abusers. Too often, a Native woman raped or beaten by her nonindigenous husband or boyfriend has no legal protection. Tribal authorities cannot intervene because the perpetrator is not Native; the state cannot intervene because the victim is Native; and the Federal government, which has jurisdiction, does not have the resources or infrastructure to intervene in domestic violence cases."

Get the Story:
Bonnie Anderson: Native American women need protection from violent acts (The Detroit News 5/18)

Related Stories:
Tribes slam weakened version of Violence Against Women Act (5/17)
House approves version of VAWA bill without tribal provisions (5/17)
GOP bill report questions data on crime against Indian women (5/16)
White House raises veto threat against Republican VAWA bill (5/16)
House to debate Violence Against Women Act reauthorization (5/15)
Editorial: Going backward on the Violence Against Women Act (5/15)
Jodi Gillette: Restore tribal court authority in VAWA measure (5/14)
Jefferson Keel: Tribal jurisdiction doesn't violate Constitution (5/14)
Robert Porter: Tribal jurisdiction in VAWA bill protects rights (5/8)
Suquamish Tribe walk raises awareness of domestic violence (5/2)
Sen. Kyl: Tribal provisions in VAWA bill violate US Constitution (5/1)
Levi Rickert: Victory for Native women in VAWA Senate vote (4/30)
Senate backs reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act (4/27)
Tulalip Tribes vice chair pushes for reauthorization of VAWA (4/26)
Sen. Tom Udall floor statement on tribes and VAWA measure (4/26)
Obama administration against Alaska tribal VAWA exclusion (4/26)
APRN: Alaska Natives angry about exclusion from VAWA bill (4/26)
Opinion: Republican VAWA amendment dangerous for tribes (4/26)
No explanation for Alaska Native exclusion from VAWA bill (4/25)
White House reaffirms support for tribal provisions in VAWA (4/24)
Alaska Natives excluded from tribal jurisdiction in VAWA bill (4/24)
Opinion: GOP roadblock to the Violence Against Women Act (4/23)
Speech by Attorney General Eric Holder at VAWA event (4/18)
Sho-Ban leader joins Vice President Biden at VAWA event (4/16)
Editorial: Set aside politics for Violence Against Women Act (03/22)
Blog: Senate Republicans fight Violence Against Women Act (3/21)
Democrats push for action on Violence Against Women Act (3/15)
Opinion: Violence Against Women Act helps Indian women (3/15)
Turtle Talk: Republicans fighting Indian provisions in VAWA (3/12)
Rep. Betty McCollum co-sponsors SAVE Native Women Act (3/8)
Sen. Hatch opposes bill provisions to protect Native women (3/7)