Native women are raped, battered, and stalked at epidemic levels that are disproportionately higher than any other group of women in the United States. The vast majority—some 86%-- of the perpetrators of these crimes are identified as non-Indians, over whom tribes lack criminal jurisdiction under current U.S. law.
Two critical bills now pending in Congress offer promise in the battle to end violence against Native women: S. 1763, the Stand Against Violence and Empower (SAVE) Native Women Act, introduced by Senator Akaka (D-HA), and S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, introduced by Senator P. Leahy (D-VT).
Both bills contain language that would restore concurrent tribal jurisdiction over certain non-Indian defendants with respect to a narrow set of crimes shown to be prevalent on Indian reservations—domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protection orders. Tribal prosecutions would not be able to proceed unless the defendant has sufficient ties to the tribe, and tribes choosing to exercise this special domestic violence jurisdiction would be required to guarantee all defendants—Indian and non-Indian—constitutional rights to indigent counsel and effective assistance of counsel otherwise available in federal or state courts. In other words, tribes, which know their communities best, would have the legal means to protect Native victims on tribal lands no matter who assaults them so long as the constitutional rights of the defendant are respected.
Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act, or “VAWA,” has been life-saving for thousands of women, men, and children. VAWA is overdue for reauthorization, which last occurred in 2005, adding a new title IX to address violence against Native women.
S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, now has 61 bipartisan sponsors, a level of support that makes the bill filibuster-proof and a record of support that can be matched by less than a dozen of the bills pending in Congress.
The Senate must now stand and vote on this critical legislation. Debate on the bill may begin as early as sometime this week.
Through its Safe Women, Strong Nations project, the Center continues to assist and support Native women’s organizations, such as the National Congress of American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Native Women, in these efforts. The Center’s hard-hitting three minute video, “To the Indigenous Woman,” is being used by the NCAI Task Force, the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women, tribes, and others to raise awareness nation-wide and on Capitol Hill and to urge lawmakers to Do Something to end violence against Native women. For more information or to learn what you can do to help, visit http://www.indianlaw.org/safewomen/take_action.
