WUNRN
Link to Amnesty International Video
on Sexual Violence Against Indigenous
One
in three Native American or Alaska Native women will be raped at some point in
their lives. Most do not seek justice because they know they will be met with
inaction or indifference.
Direct Link to Full 64-Page
Publication:
July 1, 2010
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women living in urban areas are
more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report: non-voluntary first sexual
intercourse, unintended and teen pregnancies, unprotected first sex, and first
sex with older partners. Those are among the findings from a new study from the
Urban Indian Health Institute.
The report calls the high rates of sexual violence experienced by urban AI/AN
women “intolerable.” It recommends that “the context in which sexual violence
occurs for urban AI/AN communities must be examined closely to learn how to
promote justice and address the underlying issues.”
Urban AI/AN women who had been forced to have sexual intercourse were more
likely than non-Hispanic whites to have initiated sex at a young age. Lead
researcher Shira Rutman told USA Today that this was “a sign of early
risky behavior.”
The report, Reproductive Health of Urban American Indian and Alaska
Native Women, recommends more youth-focused programming that
addresses unintended pregnancy, poor birth outcomes and sexually transmitted
infections, since risk factors were found to occur especially among young urban
AI/AN women. Ralph Forquera, director of the Urban Indian Health Institute,
said the findings show the importance of having culturally appropriate health
information available. “Funding is needed for these programs to assure that
they are most effective in addressing the issues outlined in this report,” he
said.
The Urban Indian Health Institute is a division of the Seattle Indian Health
Board. The report provides a national picture of reproductive health and sexual
violence for AI/AN women living in urban areas. It is the first study to
examine data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth for this
population. Of the 7,643 women surveyed, researchers focused the findings on
the 299 urban AI/AN women and 3,173 non-Hispanic women between the ages of 15
and 44. It is available online.
The Family Violence Prevention Fund, in partnership with faculty from Sacred
Circle and Mending the Sacred Hoop Technical Assistance Project, will release a
report in July that offers a series of recommendations to improve assessment
for domestic violence at clinics and hospitals serving American Indian/Alaska
Natives, to ensure that domestic violence victims get the help that they need
when they seek medical care.
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com.
Thank you.