Tatewin Means, Attorney General for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, recently testified for the Department of Justice on the overtaxed resources of the tribe in combating domestic violence. Photo from Google+
Violence against women on rise
By Karin Eagle
Native Sun News Staff Writer RAPID CITY –– Native American women are facing the greatest threat to their lives since the pre-reservation era. Women residing on Indian reservations suffer domestic violence and physical assault at rates far exceeding women of other ethnicities. National annual incidence rates and lifetime prevalence rates for physical assaults are also higher for Native women compared to other women. In a 2008 CDC study, 39% of Native women surveyed identified as victims of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, a rate higher than any other race or ethnicity surveyed. At a recent testimonial held in Rapid City before the USDOJ Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) president Bryan Brewer spoke about the lack of funding and support that the OST criminal justice system faces. OST Attorney General Tatewin Means gave her testimony on the over taxed resources available to the tribe when confronted with the high numbers of calls, about 70% of which are domestic violence related. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), Office of Justice Programs at least 70% of the violent victimizations experienced by Native Americans committed by persons not of the same race— a substantially higher rate of interracial violence than experienced by white or black victims. According to the Futures without Violence website comprehensive data on violence against women under tribal jurisdiction does not exist since no federal or Indian agency currently systematically collect this information. Data on crime in Indian Country is also lacking. This is partially due to the underreporting of crimes to tribal authorities and partly due to underreporting to the federal authorities. While a comprehensive survey of the devastation caused by violence against Native women remains elusive, the glimpse that emerges from existing data collection is grim. In general studies of Natives, researchers have found evidence that this population has higher levels of alcohol abuse and dependence, suicide rates, and mental distress than the general population. A 2009 study that examined the overlap of intimate partner violence and alcohol, drug, and mental disorders found significant unadjusted prevalence ratios (severe physical and sexual abuse) for anxiety, PTSD, mood and any mental disorder. During the past twenty years, there has been growing recognition among health care professionals that domestic violence is a highly prevalent public health problem with devastating effects on individuals, families and communities. The health care setting offers a critical opportunity for early identification and even primary prevention of abuse. It is likely that higher rates of exposure to traumatic events coupled with the overarching cultural, historical, and intergenerational traumas make this population more vulnerable to PTSD. Native American children are more likely to receive needed mental health care services through a juvenile justice system and inpatient facilities than non-Native children. They are also the group most likely to encounter systems with a consistent lack of attention to established standards of care for the population. Because there are many jurisdictional complexities and limitations in Indian Country the confusing division of authority among tribal, federal and state governments results in a jurisdictional maze. This is complicated by the lack of tribal courts’ criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians, the practical impact of Public Law 280, and other limitations on tribal criminal jurisdiction. The difficulty of determining jurisdiction, and provisions for concurrent jurisdiction of certain cases, can cause conflict and confusion for law enforcement, prosecution, courts, service providers, and crime victims in Indian Country. As a result, non-Indians who commit acts of domestic violence that are misdemeanors on Indian reservations are virtually immune from prosecution in most areas of the country. In addition to practical problems of funding, training, coordination, and jurisdictional complexities, tribal governments suffer from an inability to use what sovereignty duties they are realistically allowed to implement. Researchers have suggested that the erosion of the tribal government’s ability to address crime significantly harms Native women in particular. Native American advocates argue that tribal government’s inability to prosecute non-Natives attracts offenders of various crimes to Indian Country. In 1994, the Violence against Women Act (VAWA), a part of the Federal Crime Control Bill, gave federal support to develop and strengthen law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violence against Indian women and children and develop and strengthen victim services particularly involving violent crimes against women. VAWA created the Violence against Women Office (VAWO) – now known as the Office of Violence Against Women – within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Department of Justice. More information about the VAWA office can be found at www.justice.gov/ovw. Information about the Futures without Violence organization can be found at www.futureswithoutviolence.org. (Contact Karin Eagle at staffwriter@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
Join the Conversation
