Opinion

Anonymous: Fighting back against victimization in Indian Country

Monday, June 27, 2016

The cover of the ABC Handbook For Native Girls. Image from The Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center

A victim of rape shares her story in hopes of ending high rates of sexual assault in Indian Country:

In our world, Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women in general. I am a statistic. It’s a continuous rollercoaster of lying to myself for fear of the truth, of repercussions, and to survive.
I drank too much, I left with him, and I put myself in this vulnerable situation. This would be their defense and a major reason as to why a report was never filed. Terrified of what they would say about me, I would be ripped to shreds, all my past would be brought to the forefront, every mistake scrutinized. I would not win because of the choices I made.
But I never said yes. I am a silent victim and still bear the scars, remember the fight, and the moment I chose life over death by giving up. To this day, I carry some form of survivor’s guilt. My not speaking up has opened the door for his next victim.
As a mother, I look upon my innocent children’s faces with a debilitating fear they, too, will be a statistic. Rape culture is victim blaming, monitoring their choices, but never blaming the one who committed the crime. It was rape culture that stopped me from saving another woman susceptible to him, a cowardly mistake I must live with for the rest of my life. Native American communities across the U.S. are riddled with similar occurrences and until we recognize it and fight back, it will continue to impose itself upon our world.

Get the Story:
Anonymous: I Am a Silent Rape Victim (Indian Country Today 6/27)

National Institute of Justice Report:
Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men (May 2016)