A Systematic Review of Intimate Partner Violence Among Indigenous Women in the U.S. and Canada

Background and Purpose: Indigenous women in the United States experience violence at a disproportionate rate when compared to other ethnic groups: four in five Indigenous women (84.3%) experience lifetime violence and more than half (55.5%) experience intimate partner violence (IPV; Rosay, 2016). The lack of domestic violence shelters, combined with a shortage of medical and behavioral health providers in Indigenous communities, make services difficult to access. Furthermore, Indigenous populations are unique and services need to be culturally tailored to fit diverse tribal populations. This systematic review of IPV among Indigenous women is a crucial step in exploring IPV among this population.

Methods: An article search was conducted in November 2016 using EBSCOHost (Academic Premiere; CINAHL; Criminal Justice; Family Studies; SocIndex; Women Studies) and PsycINFO. Peer-reviewed articles, dissertations, and scholarly reports, published between 1976 and 2016, were included if they were original studies with content on IPV among Indigenous women in the U.S. and Canada. Articles were excluded when they were not specific to IPV, did focus on Indigenous women, or took place outside of the U.S. or Canada. A total of 889 articles were retrieved using key search terms: American Indian, Native American, Indigenous, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, partner violence, violent relationship*, family violence, spouse abuse, wife abuse, battered women, lethal*, danger*, femicide, American Indian, Native American, Indigenous, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, partner violence, violent relationship*, family violence, spouse abuse, wife abuse, battered women, lethal*, danger*, femicide. During title screening, duplications (k =158), articles not in English (k = 27), and articles that did not meet predetermined inclusion criteria (k = 318) were excluded; during abstract screening, articles on broader topics, e.g. substance abuse, mental health, and historical trauma (k = 331), were excluded; during full text screening, review articles and samples beyond the U.S. and Canada (k= 25) were excluded. A total of 30 articles met the inclusion criteria.  

Results: Among included studies, 17 used qualitative methods and case study, 12 used quantitative methods, and one used mixed methods. The most commonly researched topic was the prevalence and lived experience of IPV among Indigenous women (k = 13). Nine studies explored perspectives on culturally-specific programs, services, and interventions and eight articles covered health outcomes (sexual health, pregnancy/childbirth, and physical injury) and behavioral health outcomes (alcohol and drug abuse and mental health symptoms). Two articles examined risk factors for violence and one article examined at risk factors for homicide. One article described community members’ perspectives of IPV. Some studies addressed multiple topics, so the sum of article topics is greater than 30.

Conclusions and Implications: The literature provides scarce information on best practices for intervention among Indigenous IPV survivors, particularly in regard to identifying and responding to culturally specific IPV risk factors. There is a pressing need for more research to understand risk and protective factors among Indigenous women to develop safe, supportive services. Increasing social work knowledge in this area is crucial to reducing the barriers to opportunity, equity, and justice among Indigenous women.