Warning: Sensitive Content.  Reader Discretion Advised.

Indigenous women and girls are more frequently targeted by sexual predators than any other demographic. Shouldn't be, but numbers back this up.

Legal Finders published a summarized guide to the issue of assaults on Native females, which is a good, quick read for anyone concerned about these crimes, as I am.

Here are the stark numbers:

Over 84% of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime.  Over 56% have been sexually assaulted.  In 71% of these assaults, the lady knew the perpetrator.

According to a 2013 analysis, of the perps who committed these crimes, 67% were not Natives, and of them 33% were some other race, 10% Black and 57% were White.  Translated, a third of the sexual assaults were from Native Americans, and well over a third from Whites.

Cat Country 102.9 logo
Get our free mobile app

What enables increased assault and violence on Native women and girls?  Race may play a role.  More significant factors are the confusion over tribal jurisdiction and the woefully lacking law enforcement or criminal justice on tribal lands, unwillingness to address or solve sexual assault, and the remoteness from assault examination services.

Let me add one more detail to the paragraph above: the perpetrator knows all this!  He knows that he can commit the violent sexual crime and likely get away with it.

The guide further explains the types of sexual violence against Native women, including from close associates, incest, and drug facilitation.  It lists the debilitating harm, physical and mental and emotional, to the lady.  But it also features the steps to recovery with therapies and traditional healing.

I highly recommend this Legal Finders' Guide to familiarize readers to this aggravating abuse towards indigenous women.  Takes less than an hour to read, while solving the issues requires uncomfortable and invasive cultural and criminal justice reform.  Question is, have we the guts for it?

Top 10 Driving Violations for Montana

Here is a look at the most common driving violations in the state of Montana

Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins

LOOK: Best scenic drives in Montana

It's time to hit the road—Stacker compiled a list of the best scenic drives in Montana using data from Tripadvisor as of March 2024.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

More From Cat Country 102.9