Native American and Alaskan women are suffering rates of rape and sexual violence nearly 3 times higher than the US average, a new Amnesty International study says. The study found a maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions often allowed men to rape with impunity, creating a vicious cycle that emboldened rapists and led to more attacks. Justice Dept. figures indicated more than 1 in 3 Native women would be raped in their lifetime, although that figure may be substantially higher because of a traditional reluctance to report sex crimes.

The report accused the US government of undermining tribal justice systems by consistent under-funding, which results in a dearth of appropriately trained medical staff at Indian Health Service facilities and waits of hours or days for police response to reported rape or sex crimes. Alaska was the rape capital of the US, Amnesty said citing FBI statistics. Between 2000 and 2003, one study found that native Alaskan women in Anchorage were roughly 10 times more likely to be raped than other women in the city.

Main Source: Agence France-Presse

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