Settler colonial origins of intimate partner violence in Indigenous communities

Abstract

Indigenous women in the United States experience disproportionately higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to their non‐Indigenous counterparts. Through a framework of settler colonialism, this article examines how settler colonial gender practices disrupted and eroded generational patterns of gender roles and power relationships within Indigenous communities, contributing over time to today's higher levels of IPV perpetrated against Indigenous women. I argue that future research on IPV must attend to the historical, contemporary, and legal impacts of settler colonial policies and laws that contribute to increased rates of violence within marginalized and racialized communities. In this article, I first review dominant theories of IPV, then review how a theoretical framework of settler colonialism expands our understanding of IPV in Indigenous communities, and, finally, address the impacts of federal policies on Indigenous sovereign rights regarding violence against women.

Prevalence, correlates and trends of intimate partner violence among Indigenous and northern youths in the Northwest Territories, Canada

“…4 This pervasive violence is largely attributable to settler colonialism, which forcefully eroded traditional indigenous values, identities and systems, replacing them with insidious systems of hetero-patriarchy that value domination over shared power and agency. 5 Moreover, settler colonial mechanisms of genocide, displacement, oppression, and assimilation prompted a shift from traditional indigenous practices and complementary gender roles towards the dehumanising attitudes and adversarial gender roles that produce IPV. 6,7 Youth are particularly at high-risk for IPV due to the challenges they face navigating adolescence and young adulthood, during which they are likely negotiating intimacy and boundary setting within relationships for the first time.…”