Violence Against Women Act: Still Misleading American Indian Women

• In Event: Insights for Prevention and Intervention of Gendered Physical and Sexual Violence

Abstract

The recently revised version of the Violence Against Women Act does not give American Indian women enough protection against domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. A reversion of the Violence Against Women Act came about in 2013 with promises of new protections for American Indian Women. However, as of 2015, violence against American Indian women in Indian country is at an all-time high. VAWA is geared more toward domestic violence while American Indian women experience some of the highest rates of sexual assault in the United States. Rape in Indian-country is at epidemic proportions, and public safety issues on American Indian reservations are extremely complicated due to the many changes in Indian-country over the last 200 years. A case in point is (1978) Oliphant v Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 which, in a nutshell, decreed that tribes have no inherent criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Because of this law, native women who were sexually assaulted by non-Indian men were told tribal police could do nothing for them. Even with revisions, VAWA still falls short of protecting American Indian sexual assault victims on tribal lands.

Author

• Linda M. Robyn, Northern Arizona University