Sexual assault of American Indian women has reached a state of crisis, say tribal leaders.
The Justice Department found one in three are victims of rape or attempted rape, more than twice the national average and as much as 12 times in remote areas like much of Alaska.
A 19-year-old from Emmonuk shared her reality of those statistics with the NY Times. After suffering the intense trauma of an intruder breaking into her home and raping her, her pain was multiplied when her calls for help afterward were ignored, leaving her to deal with it all on her own. Even still, she fears retaliation from the attacker who was never even confronted by authorities. Police and prosecutors say they‘re overwhelmed by the number of these crimes.
Both the House and Senate have their own ideas about how to address sexual violence, but the Senate version includes protections for American Indian women.
Tell your representatives to support the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act.
We, the undersigned, ask our representatives to Congress to support the Senate's version of the Violence Against Women Act.
According to the NY Times, the House is opposed to a provision that would "subject non-Indian suspects of domestic violence to prosecution before tribal courts for crimes allegedly committed on reservations."
Wisconsin Democrat Gwen Moore told the Times that the House's version gives abusers more rights than victims, and she calls the measure “'a direct assault on women’s lives.'”
President Obama, lawmakers, women's activist groups and the American Bar Association object to the House version of the bill, and 31 religious groups object to certain provisions within it, adds the Times.
We therefore ask our representatives to support the Senate version of the bill to ensure that all women are better protected from violence.
