Justice denied for Native American women

In the US, Native American women are facing an epidemic of sexual assault and violence. One in three reports being the victim of a rape or attempted rape and Native American women are also 10 times more likely to be murdered than other groups of women in the US. Most of the attacks are also reported to be perpetrated by a person of another race.

Why is this happening? According to advocates for Native women, it’s largely due to poor policing and a failed legal system that allows offenders, who are non-Native Americans, to get away with crimes committed on reservation land. Unfortunately, this has led to many unprosecuted cases and little justice.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Sarah Deer, assistant professor at William Mitchell Law School; Andrea Smith, co-founder of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence; and Rebecca St. George of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition.

What do you think? How should tribal and US governments solve this problem? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using #AJStream.