Does the Violence Against Women Act Protect Native American Women?
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Authors
Huffman, Benjamin C.
Issue Date
2020
Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
According to the Department of Justice statistics, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/NA) women suffer a higher rate of assault than other female demographics. Additionally, the statistics show that the majority of perpetrators are not Native American or Alaska Native. No other female demographic experiences this high rate of interracial assault crimes. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) represents significant legislation involving crimes against women in general. VAWA does have a provision for re-introducing the ability for Tribes/Nations to prosecute violent crimes against American Indian and Alaska Native women, which had been legally eliminated by historical legislation. This research will examine the effectiveness of VAWA in protecting Native American and Alaska Native women to the same standards as other female demographics. Finally, the research will analyze whether the law itself is at issue for the differences in VAWA’s effectiveness in these differing demographics or if jurisdiction and the implementation of VAWA explains the differences in the policy’s application.