Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men

An NIJ-funded study shows that American Indian and Alaska Native women and men suffer violence at alarmingly high rates.

More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women and men have experienced violence in their lifetime, and more than one in three experienced violence in the past year, according to a new report from an NIJ-funded study.

The study, part of NIJ's research program on violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women, looked at how prevalent psychological aggression and physical violence by intimate partners, stalking, and sexual violence were among American Indian and Alaska Native women and men. It also examined the perpetrators' race and the impact of the violence.

See "Examining Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women."

The study used a nationally representative sample from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS),[1] with a total of 2,473 adult women and 1,505 adult men who identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native, either alone or in combination with another racial group. Most women (83 percent) and most men (79 percent) were affiliated or enrolled with a tribe or village. More than half of women and men (54 percent for each group) had lived within reservation boundaries or in an Alaska Native village in the past year.

The results, which show high rates of violence against both women and men, provide the most thorough assessment on the extent of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men to date. These results complement those from the National Crime Victimization Survey. Prior to this project, there were few estimates available, and often these estimates were based on local samples.[2] The few national estimates available used very small samples, which did not always accurately represent the American Indian and Alaska Native population in the United States.[3]

See "Differences Between Two National Surveys."

Violence Against Women

Results show that more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women (84.3 percent) have experienced violence in their lifetime (see Table 1). This includes 56.1 percent who have experienced sexual violence, 55.5 percent who have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner, 48.8 percent who have experienced stalking, and 66.4 percent who have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner. Overall, more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

Table 1. Violence Against Women Type of Violence American Indian or Alaska Native, % Non-Hispanic White Only,* % Relative Risk Any Lifetime Violence 84.3 71.0 1.2 Sexual Violence 56.1 49.7 NS Physical Violence by Intimate Partner 55.5 34.5 1.6 Stalking 48.8 26.8 1.8 Psychological Aggression by Intimate Partner 66.4 52.0 1.3 Any Past-Year Violence 39.8 23.3 1.7 Sexual Violence 14.4 5.4 NS Physical Violence by Intimate Partner 8.6 4.1 NS Stalking 11.6 7.0 NS Psychological Aggression by Intimate Partner 25.5 16.1 1.6 NS = Percentages across racial and ethnic groups are not significantly different (p > .05). *Non-Hispanic white only represents people who identified themselves as both non-Hispanic and white, with no other race.

The study also found that more than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women (39.8 percent) have experienced violence in the past year. This includes 14.4 percent who have experienced sexual violence, 8.6 percent who have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner, 11.6 percent who have experienced stalking, and 25.5 percent who have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner. Overall, more than 730,000 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in the past year.

American Indian and Alaska Native women are 1.2 times as likely as non-Hispanic white-only[4] women to have experienced violence in their lifetime and 1.7 times as likely to have experienced violence in the past year. They are also significantly more likely to have experienced stalking and physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, as well as psychological aggression by an intimate partner both in their lifetime and in the past year.

Violence Against Men

American Indian and Alaska Native men also have high victimization rates. More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native men (81.6 percent) have experienced violence in their lifetime (see Table 2). This includes 27.5 percent who have experienced sexual violence, 43.2 percent who have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner, 18.6 percent who have experienced stalking, and 73 percent who have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner. Overall, more than 1.4 million American Indian and Alaska Native men have experienced violence in their lifetime.

Table 2. Violence Against Men Type of Violence