Violence against Native American and Alaska Native Women

Images of three women: J, survivor of sexual violence; Cindy Pennington, chair of the Alaska Native Women's Sexual Assault Committee; Winona Flying Earth, from Bridges Against Domestic Violence

J, survivor of sexual violence; Cindy Pennington, chair of the Alaska Native Women's Sexual Assault Committee; Winona Flying Earth, from Bridges Against Domestic Violence (BADV). © A. Nadel.

End violence against Native American women: More than 1 in 3 Native women will be raped in her lifetime.

Native American and Alaska Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in the United States in general. A complex maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions allows perpetrators to rape with impunity and in some cases even encourages assaults.

» Read a summary of our findings

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News
» Open letter from Amnesty International about funding for Native American women
» Tribal Law and Order Act has been introduced
» Women are honored during ceremony at Standing Rock

Maze of Injustice:Background & Resources
Slide show: Survivors of sexual violence and advocates speak out. Photographs by Adam Nadel.

Report: Maze of Injustice (PDF)
"Maze of Injustice – The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA," reports that Native American and Alaska Native women in the United States suffer disproportionately high levels of rape and sexual violence.
» About the report
» Maze of Injustice: One Year Update (PDF)

RELATED WEBSITES

» Native American and Alaska Native women organizations in the United States

» Stolen Sisters: Discrimination and violence against Indigenous women in Canada

WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS

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ASK AMNESTY
On April 24th, Sarah Deer, a tribal law specialist, responded to questions submitted by Amnesty supporters regarding sexual violence against Native American and Alaska Native women in the US. In one of her responses, Sarah said: "Native women have been resisting rape in North America for over 500 years[...] We are an extremely marginalized population but Native women are strong and capable." » Read the transcript.