Gender-based violence is common and often unreported. CDC survey data collected from 2010 to 2012 found that 45.1% of non-Hispanic Black women had experienced physical violence, sexual violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. A 2016 National Institute of Justice report found that more than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women had experienced violence in their lifetime.
The federal Violence Against Women Act, first passed in 1994, funded shelters, hotlines and training. Its 2013 reauthorization restored some tribal authority to prosecute non-Native people who commit domestic violence on tribal land.
Racism shapes who is protected. Black women and Native women are less likely to be believed or to see cases prosecuted, and calling police can bring added danger. Survivors of color have long led community-based responses, and the Say Her Name campaign brought attention to Black women killed by police.