StrongHearts Native Helpline Publishes State Reports on Intimate Partner Violence Impacting Native Americans and Alaska Natives

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By StrongHearts Native Helpline

May 20, 2022

StrongHearts Native Helpline has published individual reports about intimate partner violence (IPV) impacting Native Americans and Alaska Natives in all 50 states. Data from the reports was used to form a national picture of IPV among Native peoples in the United States, which is included in StrongHearts’ 2021 Year-End Report, “Sharing Our Stories.”

National findings from StrongHearts’2021 Year-End Report included: 

• An 82% increase over 2020 in answered phone calls.
• A 381% increase over 2020 in answered chats.
• Phone calls comprised 74% of contacts; chats comprised 25% of contacts; and texts comprised 1% of contacts.
• Native IPV victims faced: abuse at hands of a non-Native partner (60%); have been strangled by their abusive partner (23%); abuser has access to a firearm (17%); experienced cultural abuse (14%); and disclosed being stalked (13%).
• Native IPV victims need: peer support (72%), shelter (35%), legal advocacy (33%), emergency financial aid (17%) and transportation (12%). 
• Gaps in Native-centered supportive services create unique barriers for Native victims seeking help. There is a wide disparity of Native versus non-Native service providers in the United States: 60 Native shelters vs. 1,535 non-Native shelters and a total of 266 Native providers vs. 3,511 non-Native providers.

The state reports include information about the types of contacts received by StrongHearts; top barriers faced by Native IPV victims; gender of contacts; types of abuse disclosed by Native IPV victims and the top four items that Native IPV victims need the most.

“StrongHearts Native Helpline’s annual reports are  valuable as they help our stakeholders receive a clear picture of what Native American and Alaska Native victim-survivors are facing wherever they reside in the United States,” says StrongHearts Director Lori Jump (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians). “We hope these reports also will assist tribes and other Native organizations with valuable information that sheds additional light on the challenges that are faced by our relatives who are impacted by IPV.”

StrongHearts Native Helpline is a 24/7/365 culturally-appropriate domestic, dating and sexual violence helpline for Native Americans, available by calling or texting 1-844-762-8483 or clicking on the chat icon at strongheartshelpline.org. 

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