Native women are at risk.

A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice estimated that more than 4 in 5 (84%) Native women have experienced violence in their lifetimes. This estimate represents more than 1.5 billion women.[1]

The same year, the Urban Indian Health Institute found murder to be the 3rd leading cause of death among American Indian/Alaskan Native women.[2]

A 2008 study funded by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Native women are murdered at a rate that is up to 10 times higher than the U.S. national average.[3]

Perhaps equally troubling is the lack of data, misunderstanding, and silencing that surrounds this crisis in violence perpetrated against Native women. The majority of U.S. states do not maintain publicly available statistics relating to MMIW.[4]

While there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in 2016, only 116 cases were logged in the the DOJ’s missing persons database.[5]

A 2018 study by the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) gathered information on 506 MMIWG cases across 71 US urban centers.

+ The youngest victim was a baby under the age of 1.

+ The oldest victim was an 83 year old elder.

+ 28% of the perpetrators in these cases were never found guilty or held accountable.

+ More than 95% of the cases researched by UIHI received no national media coverage.[6]

More than 4 in 5 (84%) Native women have experienced violence in their lifetimes.