Report
Conversation with Community: Domestic Violence Services in Indian Country Summary Report (2025)
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is committed to promoting the safety, healing, and protection of Native women and children by developing resources for survivors, advocates, and communities. To better understand the landscape of domestic violence (DV) services in Indian Country, NIWRC conducted Conversations with Community (CWC), centering the lived experiences of community members to identify ongoing challenges and service gaps. This initiative included eight individual interviews and five small group semi-structured interviews with Tribal leaders, Tribal coalitions, advocates, and survivors involved in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) DV victim services, highlighting both existing resources and the factors that influence the approachability, availability, and effectiveness of DV services.
DV remains a public health crisis in AI/AN communities. More than 84% of AI/AN women have experienced violence in their lifetime, and over half have experienced sexual violence. As a result, AI/AN women face higher rates of physical injury, increased economic hardship, and limited access to vital supportive services. The homicide rate for AI/AN women is more than 10 times the national average, with 96 percent of perpetrators identified as non-American Indian and Alaska Native. In 2023, the National Institute of Justice reported that more than 2 in 5 AI/AN female victims reported being physically injured, and more than a third (38 percent) were unable to receive necessary services such as medical and legal care. These outcomes reflect a public health and safety crisis with long-standing gaps in protection and prevention.
Despite the high prevalence of need, there are fewer than 60 Tribal DV shelters for 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States, leaving many AI//AN survivors without access to safe housing and essential services. AI/AN survivors of DV face compounded obstacles, including geographic location, jurisdictional complexities, insufficient funding, and limited Tribal resources and support systems. These challenges make it difficult for AI/AN survivors to utilize emergency shelter, victim advocate services, legal assistance, and other life-saving resources. These discussions and the following summary underscore the importance of increasing support for AI/AN DV programs, expanding shelter availability, and addressing policy gaps to ensure AI/AN survivors receive the protection and services needed to heal and rebuild their lives.
