It has been almost six years since the National Institute of Justice reported the results of a study it funded which included sobering facts on the violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women.  Six years and very little has been done to address the crisis.

The study looked at the prevalence of psychological aggression and physical violence by intimate partners, stalking, and sexual violence among American Indian and Alaska Native women.  The results were profound. 

• For American Indian and Alaska Native women, 4 in 5 (84.3%) have experienced violence in their lifetime. This includes:
• 56.1% have experienced sexual violence.
• 55.5% have endured physical intimate partner violence.
• 48.8% have experienced stalking.
• 96% of Native female victims of sexual violence experience violence at the hands of a non-Native perpetrator.
• 21% have experienced inter-racial violence.

The murder rate of Native women is more than 10 times the national average on some reservations. 

Two 2020 laws have requirements that could help address aspects of the crisis, depending on how the Departments of Justice and Interior implement them. But the agencies have missed some of the requirements' deadlines. For example, they have not yet set up a joint commission to explore the issue.

The GAO was asked to review the federal response to the missing or murdered AI/AN women crisis. The report was to examine the extent to which (1) the number of missing or murdered AI/AN women in the U.S. is known and (2)  what steps the DOJ and DOI have taken to address the crisis. GAO reviewed available data on missing persons and violent deaths, relevant reports, and agency documentation, including agency policies and procedures. 

Among the recommendations made by the GOA were that the DOJ develop a plan for how it will accomplish ongoing analyses of missing or murdered AI/AN women data and that DOJ and DOI both develop plans to implement the requirements in Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act of 2019 that remain unfulfilled past their statutory deadlines. 

For more information:

https://www.niwrc.org/

"Examining Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Women"

Recently the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was finally passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Biden.  The provisions of the bill are a good start for dealing with the problem but there is so much more that needs to be done.  April is National Sexual Assault Prevention Awareness Month.  It is particularly important to focus on this problem this year because the numbers of sexual assault and domestic violence have increased during the pandemic.  Please read this graphic to familiarize yourself with the ways in which this violence can be dealt with.

Another rich, white boy.

Recently a 20-year-old man in Lewistion, NY, was sentenced to eight years’ probation.  Christopher Belter had pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree sex abuse, third degree attempted abuse and third degree rape, all involving multiple 15- and 16-year-old girls in his home.

Because Belter was 17 at the time the assaults occurred, he was initially sentenced to a two-year interim probation with the understanding, if he successfully completed probation, he would be granted Youthful Offender status.  Prior to the recent sentencing hearing Niagara County Judge Mathew Murphy ruled that Belter would be sentenced as an adult and denied Youthful Offender status.  Judge Murphy said of Belter ”we now know from his documented failure to follow the rules imposed by the court about abstinence from pornography that this defendant does not hesitate to ignore the rules when they compete with his own carnal appetites.” 

Despite Belter’s failure to comply with the restrictions of his 2-year probation, Judge Murphy explained, “It seems to me that a sentence that involves incarceration or partial incarceration isn’t appropriate, so I am going to sentence you to probation.”  This even after the judge had said “the Defendant still poses an ‘above average risk’ to reoffend after two years of counseling.”

The judge did issue a lengthy list of probation rules for Belter and did issue a strong warning about following the rules.  In addition, Belter will have to register as a sex offender.   He returns for a Sex Offender Registration Act hearing on December 2.  There it will be decided if he is a level one, two or  three sex offender.

Steve Cohen, attorney for one of the victims, made the following statement:   “Justice was not done today.  There were ‘zero consequences’ for violating his previous probation.  He is privileged.  He comes from money.  He is white.  He was sentenced as an adult, appropriately – for an adult to get away with these crimes is unjust.”