Opinion

Jane Root: Maine tribes establish domestic violence coalition





Jane Root, the director of the Maliseet Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocacy Center, explains how tribes in Maine are combating violence against Native women:
Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity for all of us to gain a better understanding of domestic violence and its prevalence, so we can better respond to and prevent it. The extent of domestic violence in Maine probably won’t surprise many — as we often read in this paper about domestic violence arrests and, sadly, deaths all too often.

But you still may be surprised that:
Every nine seconds a woman in America is battered by her intimate partner.
One in three Native American women will be raped in their lifetime and one in four will be battered by their intimate partner.
Native Americans are victims of all forms of violence, including domestic violence, at a rate higher than any other racial group.
Most perpetrators of domestic violence on Native women are non-Native men.

Get the Story:
Jane Root: What you might not know about Native American women, domestic violence (The Bangor Daily News 10/25)

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