GENEVA - A delegation of Native women traveled to United Nations headquarters to seek interventions that will spur the United States government to take action to reduce the epidemic of sexual and physical violence against Indian women.
One in three Native women will be raped and six in 10 will be assaulted in their lifetimes, the delegation told members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on February 21st. More than 80 percent of the violence will be perpetrated by non-Native men, who often escape prosecution and conviction.
The delegation, led by Navajo Nation First Lady Vikki Shirley, represented more than a dozen women's groups working to stop rampant violence against Indian women. Their recommendations included a mandate for the United States to make public safety on Indian reservations a priority, and to reaffirm the authority of tribal governments to enforce tribal laws over all persons on Indian lands.
LINKS
* To read a full transcript of the testimony presented to CERD, click here.
* Read CERD's recommendations regarding Native women and sexual violence on page 8, section 26 of the full report.
* Helena group working with U.N. committee on violence
February 23, 2008 | Helena Independent Record article by Marga Lincoln
* Maze of Injustice, Amnesty International report about the failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the United States.
Press Releases: Indian Law Resource Center