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Native American Women Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 2041
Pages 9
Stephanie Zackery
Dr. Dreyer
ENGL 1213
9 December 2014
Domestic Violence and Native American Women
One in five, or nearly twenty-two million women, have been raped at some point in their lifetimes (The White House Council of Women and Girls 1). This alone is a surprisingly large statistics; however it does not seem quite as large when compared to the percentage of Native American women who experience rape. One in three Native American women experience rape in their lifetimes ("UNITED STATES: Crimes Against Native Women More Frequent, Less Often Prosecuted.") Rape is defined as forced intercourse, which can include vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Rape is a purposed, measure form of control that ignores the feelings, fears, wishes, and sexual …show more content…
The reason for this is that tribal courts generally do not have jurisdiction over crimes committed within the tribe’s jurisdiction by non-Indians and state courts usually do not have this jurisdiction either, ("Violence Against Women Act And Tribal Communities."165). This is because the Supreme Court ruled in 1978 in the case of Oilphant v. Suquamish that tribal courts could not have criminal jurisdiction over US citizens who were not Native American. This ruling took away the power of the tribal authorities to punish crimes that were committed by non-Indian perpetrators on tribal land. It also denied victims of sexual violence the due process and equal protection under the law (Amnesty International Staff 30). Generally the jurisdiction in these cases would be given to federal courts, however the federal court system does not always take action against those who victimize Native American women. Between 2004 and 2007, federal prosecutors declined to prosecute seventy-five percent of adult rape cases that had been transferred from Indian country (Fletcher). Even when allowed to persecute sexual and domestic violence committed against Native American women, tribal courts can impose only a one year prison sentence or a five thousand dollar fine for any crime, including rape …show more content…
In some areas the Indian Health Service (IHS) is the only healthcare provider for Native Americans and in most areas it is the primary health care provider for Native Americans. However, many IHS facilities do not have well defined protocol for caring for women who have been victims of sexual violence. These facilities also may not always give victims a forensic sexual assault kit. To handle sexual violence efficiently these facilities must have the personal, resources, and capability to make sure that evidence is collected accurately and confidentially until it can be given to law enforcement officials .However, basic services vary from place to place because of the underfunding of IHS (Amnesty International Staff 55).The failure of some health facilities to provide women with the culturally appropriate treatment and support they need after being victims of sexual violence is caused in some instance by the inadequate training of the responders(Amnesty International Staff 9) It is suggested by data gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice that tribal law enforcement has between fifty-five and seventy-five percent of the resources that are accessible to similar non-Indian communities (Amnesty International Staff 42). Because of this women do not get a timely response from law enforcement, may not have forensic

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