Sexual violence scars Native American women

Sexual violence scars Native American women
New law aims to protect indigenous women on US reservations from sky-high rates of sexual assault and offender impunity.

White Earth Nation, Minnesota - It seems like an idyllic memory at first - hiding under a table as a small child, watching her family as they go about their business, unaware of her presence.

But quickly the memory takes a darker turn as Lisa Brunner recounts listening to the screams of her mother as her stepfather beat her, first with his hands, and then with the butt of a shotgun.

"I was literally born into violence," says Brunner.

In another instance, she recalls running with her mother out of their home across a field and into the woods, her stepfather screaming in the distance.

"I'd found a safe haven," Brunner says. "I would take her into the woods, and she would pass out. And I'd sit and listen for his screams all night." If she thought he was getting closer, she would wake her mother and they would run deeper into the woods, deeper into the night.

Brunner, who was sexually abused throughout her childhood by multiple people, now works as an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in her community, the White Earth Nation in Minnesota, and other Native American communities around the US.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/201334111633172507.html