Resources

Website Resource

Talking Points: Domestic Violence in Indian Country

Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Indian Country

  • Violence against Native women is a severe crisis in the U.S., with more than 84% of American Indian/ Alaska Native (AI/AN) women experiencing violence, and more than half (55%) experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime.1
  • More than half (56%) of AI/AN women have experienced physical violence by their intimate partners.2
  • More than 63% of AI/AN women have experienced psychological aggression such as name-calling, humiliation, coercive control, threats, and monitoring.3

What is Domestic Violence? 

  • Domestic violence (DV) is a continuous pattern of power and control that one partner exerts over another in an intimate relationship. This control is enforced through various abusive tactics, including physical violence, sexual violence, economic abuse, psychological abuse, stalking, intimidation, threats, isolation, and ongoing coercion. 
  • Domestic violence can occur in both current and former relationships. An ex-partner may continue to threaten, stalk, and/or harm their former partner even after the relationship has ended.  
  • Domestic violence is a public health and safety crisis in Indian Country due to the disproportionately high rates at which AI/AN individuals experience it and the limited resources available.
  • Domestic violence is a crime at the state, Tribal, and federal levels, with each having its own laws defining domestic violence and criminal penalties.

Types of Abuse in Domestic Violence

  • Physical abuse is any intentional act that causes injury or trauma through physical force, such as slapping, hitting, kicking, or strangulation.
  • Psychological abuse involves manipulation, coercion, or control that causes fear, emotional distress, or mental harm. Tactics may include threats, verbal abuse, humiliation, and isolation from loved ones.
  • Economic abuse is a pattern of behavior that takes control over another person’s capability to obtain, use, or maintain financial resources. This can include controlling finances, destroying resources, or limiting access to education or employment, thus limiting independence.
  • Sexual abuse is any nonconsensual sexual contact or activity, including acts involving force, coercion, manipulation, or threats. Consent must be freely given, and both parties must have the capacity to provide consent.
  • Spiritual abuse is the manipulation of one’s spiritual or cultural beliefs to control, manipulate, or shame their partner.
  • Other abusive tactics can include stalking, animal abuse, substance use coercion, technology-facilitated abuse, and more.

Challenges to Accessing Safety

  • Access to necessary life-saving services such as medical care, legal services, or traditionally grounded advocacy for AI/AN survivors is limited in many Tribal communities. 
  • High poverty and unemployment rates on some reservations can be as high as 80%, making it increasingly difficult for Native survivors to achieve economic stability and long-term safety.4
  • AI/AN survivors frequently face intersecting challenges, including housing insecurity, substance use disorders, chronic health issues, economic hardship, and elevated rates of maternal and infant mortality.5
  • Jurisdictional complexities can create a legal maze where criminal acts may fall between Tribal, state, and federal authority. These gaps can lead to under-prosecution, delays in legal processes, limited law enforcement coordination, and restricted Tribal authority over non-Native offenders.6
  • Safe housing is often limited; with fewer than 60 Tribal domestic violence shelters in the U.S., lack of access to Native-specific DV shelters directly impacts survivor safety. Domestic violence and sexual assault remain leading causes of homelessness for Native women and families.

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act

  • In the 1970s, Native advocates like Tillie Black Bear brought national attention to domestic violence in Tribal communities through federal testimony and early congressional advocacy.
  • Enacted in 1984, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) remains the only federal funding source dedicated explicitly to supporting emergency shelter and supportive services for survivors of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence and their dependents.7
  • FVPSA provides critical support for a range of initiatives, including funding for state and Tribal shelter programs, state domestic violence coalitions, national training and technical assistance providers, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline.8
  • Many Tribal Nations have enhanced domestic violence programs with FVPSA funding, providing comprehensive, traditionally responsive services such as emergency shelter, safety planning, counseling, legal advocacy, childcare, life skills education, and access to essentials like food, clothing, and transportation. 
  • In 2024, FVPSA supported more than 240 Tribal domestic violence programs, many of which are the only domestic violence service providers in their communities.

  1. Rosay, A. B. (2016). Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men: 2010 
    Findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice

  2. Ibid.

  3. Breiding, M., Smith, S., Basile, K., Walters, M., Chen, J., Merrick, M. (2014, September 5). Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and IPV Victimization – National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011.

  4. LaPorte, C., & Packard, G. (Eds.). (2020, January). National workgroup on safe housing for American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of gender-based violence: Lessons learned. National Indigenous Women's Resource Center; Alaska Native Women's Resource Center; National Resource Center on Domestic Violence

  5. CDC and Prevention, Health disparities affecting American Indian/Alaska Native people, CDC. (2024)

  6. National Congress of American Indians, VAWA 2013’s Special Domestic Violence Criminal 

    Jurisdiction Five-Year Report, 20 March 2018

  7. National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Family Violence Prevention and Services Fact Sheet,

  8. Ibid.

This project was made possible by Grant Number 90-EV0533-05 from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.