I have decided to keep with the theme of sexual abuse against women in America for this week. A growing concern that has been making news coverage in recent weeks is the sexual abuses happening against Native American women in the United States. Before reading the entire story I assumed that these women were being abused by Native American men, however, statistics have shown that the majority of the perpetrators are non-Indian men. You may be asking why focus on just Native American women? Well, Native American women are "2.5 times more likely" of experiencing violence against them when compared to other women in the United States. Statistics also show that 1 out of 3 Native American women will be raped at some point in her life and "3 out of 4 will be physically assaulted." The reason that these assaults are able to happen at such dramatic rates is because holes in the system. Indian nations are legally not allowed to persecute non-Indians in their courts. So how are these perpetrators going to be found guilty? It is very uncommon for these men to be held accountable for these actions.
Again this article deals with the issue of liberty and security of a person. These women do not feel safe and have high odds against them that they will fall victim to sexual assault. The article explains that mothers have to teach their daughters what to do when they are raped because the crime is so common. Native American women should not have to feel that they have to prepare their daughters to be raped. In my opinion these women are still citizens of the United States and should be able to take their abuser to court in a fair system. Clearly there are problems with this system and Native American women need to be guaranteed more protection and education against sexual abuse.
Do you believe it is right for non-Indian men to be prohibited from being tried in Indian Nation courts?
I do not think that they should be allowed to be tried in a reservation court but should instead be brought to a US court. I think that even if it happens on a reservation, and a non-Indian is involved with a crime, it should be brought to a US court so that the guilty party can be held accountable for their crime.
ReplyDeleteI think they should be tried in an Indian nation court but should be represented as a citizen of the larger country. When you commit a crime in another country you are tried within that country are you not? We allowed these reservations and land to belong to the native Americans, there is no reason we shouldn't afford them the same luxuries.
ReplyDeleteThis is atrocious. The United States is supposed to treat Indian nations as factions within the country, and yet their rights are still being infringed upon. They are allowed to establish their own laws and the US government has limited oversight of these. Therefore, f the crime happens on reservation property then the Indian nations should have the right to prosecute it. With the acknowledgment that they are a citizen of a foreign nation. If it happens off the reserve than the US should prosecute. Regardless of who tries the perpetrator, this really needs to be taken control of. Like you said, it shouldn't be acceptable for women to expect to be raped.
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