PRESS RELEASE: WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Naabik’íyáti’ Sexual Assault Prevention Subcommittee Chairwoman Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty (Cove, Toadlena/Two Grey Hills, Red Valley, Tsé’ałnáoozt’i’í, Sheepsprings, Beclabito, Gad’ii’áhí/Tó Ko’í) invites the Navajo public to attend a virtual forum being held by the community-based group Missing & Murdered Diné Relatives for the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The forum is titled, “Domestic Violence as a Contributor to the MMDR Crisis on the Navajo Nation” and will be held on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 p.m. (MDT). Online registration is open at: https://bit.ly/3kGAnlu.
“I would like to welcome and invite our Navajo citizens to tune in and be a part of this discussion. We understand how domestic violence is affecting our communities, and now we need to also initiate the conversations to understand the dynamics of violence in our communities. Yes, we can continue to push for federal funding to support these areas, however we need to develop solutions and support systems that give relief to survivors and families,” said Delegate Crotty.
The virtual forum will kick-off October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and will include a panel discussion highlighting domestic violence awareness its role in the missing and murdered crisis on the Navajo Nation. The panel discussion will include other topics, such as missing persons cases, land/body violence, and LGBTQ2S issues, and will allow time for a question and answer session with community members.
The panelists for our virtual forum include:
Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty
Janene Yazzie, Sixth World Solutions
Kimberly Smith, MMIWG Community Organizer
Meskee Yatsayte, Navajo Nation Missing Persons Updates
Moroni Benally, Restoring Ancestral Winds
Patricia Nelson, Strengthening Nations
According to the National Institute of Justice, four in five Native American women, or 84 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime. Additionally, 56.1 percent of Native American women have experienced sexual violence, 55.5 percent have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner, 48.8 percent have experienced stalking, and 66.4 percent have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner.
Overall, more than 1.5 million Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.
Delegate Crotty stressed that domestic violence is also an indicator directly relating to the missing and murdered crisis on the Navajo Nation and in Indian Country. Most victims of the missing and murdered crisis were also victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence.
“This virtual forum will have a panel of Diné community advocates who have been engaged in the community work for years and it is necessary to hear from their experiences and what they are seeing out there. We also want to create this awareness so we can promote violence prevention and healing. This is the community work that will inform our Nation how we can best create solutions, and we need the voices of our communities and families,” said Delegate Crotty.
To register for the MMDR Virtual Forum, please visit: https://bit.ly/3kGAnlu. For more information and to provide support for MMDR, please visit www.navajommdr.com.
