Violence Against Native American Women.
Three out of five Native American women have been assaulted in their life, and that needs to be changed.
Dear Future President,
I write to you today because Native Americans face many hardships. From the inadequate health care. To the rising numbers of youth suicide. And many Native languages dying. But we’re gonna talk about is the violence that many Native American women face. These women need help, because so many of them have been ignored. And as a young Native American women, I feel the urge to help my community. So in my letter I’ll state what’s wrong, and then give you some solutions to help solve this problem.
Three out of five Native American women have been assaulted in their lifetimes, and are 3.5 times more likely to be raped or sexual assaulted, than women of other races. Overall the violent crime rate among Native American women was 98 per 1,000. More than twice that of whites (40 per 1,000). And 80% of violence against Native Americans are not of the same race. But no one seems to care to show these facts to the media. You never hear any of our problems on the news. There is 562 federally recognized tribes in the United States, and around 54 million Native Americans. But we are always ignored.
You now see the facts, but that’s not all I’m gonna give you. I’ve came up with solutions. In March of 2015 Native American tribes were allowed to not only prosecute Native American men, but also Non-Native men. But I think we should take this a step further and do more. We should open up more counseling centers and safe houses on the reservations or close-by. And before I slightly mentioned the inadequate healthcare, I think fixing that would help. Because by allowing good health care, it would allow women to feel better about going to the hospital to get their injuries treated. I think when we allowed tribes to prosecute Non-Native men was a step to help our women in Native American communities.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my letter. And I hope we can help Native American women who face violence.
Sincerely,
TyRah F.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/13-native-american-issues_us_55b7d801e4b0074ba5a6869c
http://mshoop.org/brochures-pdf/VAIWFact%20Sheet.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/06/vawa-native-americans_n_6819526.html