From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women Description: American Indian and Alaska native women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence and other violence, such as human trafficking and murder when compared with White women. But understanding the full scope of this problem and how to address it is challenged by cross jurisdiction cooperation and the lack of comprehensive national data. We’ll learn more GAO’s Gretta Goodwin and Anna Maria Ortiz. Related GAO Work: GAO-22-104045, Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women: New Efforts Are Underway, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Federal Response Released: October 2021 [Anna Maria Ortiz:] Violence against indigenous women is a crisis in the United States. [Music] [Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report. Your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office—celebrating 100 years of fact-based, nonpartisan government oversight. I'm Holly Hobbs. American Indian and Alaska native women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence and other violence, such as human trafficking and murder when compared with say White women. But understanding the full scope of this problem and how to address it is challenged by cross jurisdiction cooperation and the lack of comprehensive national data. Today, we'll learn more from two GAO experts who led work for our new report about missing and murdered indigenous women. Joining us are Gretta Goodwin—a director in our Homeland Security and Justice Team— and Anna Maria Ortiz— a director in our Natural Resources and Environment Team. Thanks for joining us. [Anna Maria Ortiz:] Thank you. [Gretta Goodwin”] Thank you, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] So, Gretta, what do we know about the number of missing or murdered indigenous women? So, Holly, the short answer is that we don't know the full scope of the problem. Now, there are a few reasons for this. One reason is that there is no one single database that has all of the information you would need to figure out the total number. Another reason is that the federal databases that do contain information on these cases don't capture everything. Federal databases with missing-persons information were designed to manage cases, not to generate statistics. Plus, missing or murdered indigenous women cases may be underreported. Families may be reluctant to report a loved one is missing, or the manner of death or the victim's race may be misclassified. There is encouraging news on the data front. Two laws enacted in October of 2020 may help increase our understanding of the missing or murdered indigenous women's crisis. For example, starting in 2022, the Department of Justice must annually report know statistics on missing or murdered indigenous people throughout the U.S. However, as it stands today ,the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior still need to implement several of these requirements. [Holly Hobbs:] Anna Maria, intimate partner and domestic violence is often underreported. Why might this be even more true for indigenous women? [Anna Maria Ortiz:] We heard from tribal government officials and organizations that historic racism and prejudice against American Indian and Alaska natives and women in particular can affect the way that law enforcements respond to and treat cases of intimate partner or domestic violence. These experiences have made some feel like it's futile to report such crimes or even a missing person, which can result in these cases going unreported. [Holly Hobbs:] So Gretta, that’s got to be frustrating to both federal and tribal law enforcement? [Gretta Goodwin:] So a lack of trust in law enforcement is a major challenge. Even if there is a change in the law enforcement's approach, victim’s families still may not trust officials enough to report cases. Another challenge is that it is not always clear which law enforcement agency has criminal jurisdiction—whether it's state, local, tribal or federal. Figuring out who has jurisdiction can make things complicated and affect the response. Multiple law enforcement agencies may need to coordinate where cases involve more than one jurisdiction or where jurisdiction is not clear. [Holly Hobbs:] So Anna Maria, from a tribal government or tribal law enforcement perspective, what did they tell us about working with federal law enforcement? [Anna Maria Ortiz:] We heard mixed views from tribal officials about their work with federal law enforcement. While some described a positive and collaborative working relationship, many also identified challenges. In fact, several tribal representatives related specific instances where they felt federal law enforcement officials were indifferent or untimely in their response to a report of a missing or murdered indigenous woman. We also heard from tribal officials and family members who were devastated by instances where they felt federal law enforcement officials did not adequately communicate the status of an investigation with the victim's family. [Holly Hobbs:] So what are the efforts to address this crisis? [Anna Maria Ortiz:] The federal government is working on several initiatives. For example, an executive order established Operation Lady Justice, which is a multiagency task force working to develop model protocols for law enforcement agencies to respond to and investigate these cases. And the Department of the Interior established offices in 7 states to investigate unresolved or cold cases of missing and murdered American, Indian and Alaska natives. Another very promising initiative is the development of tribal community response plans, which are a collaboration between the Department of Justice and several tribes, to outline how each tribal community and law enforcement will work together in response to a report of a new missing or murdered person. These plans may incorporate other support, like victim services providers and are tailored to the needs, resources and culture of each local community. {Music} [Holly Hobbs:] So Gretta and Anna Maria just told us that while federal law enforcement and tribal communities are working together to address the crisis of violence against indigenous women, there are some important challenges these efforts face. Gretta, did we make any recommendations to federal agencies to help improve their efforts? [Gretta Goodwin:] We did, Holly. We made several recommendations. We recommended that the Department of Justice put a process in place to analyze data on missing or murdered indigenous women on an ongoing basis. Now, that could provide a better understanding of how widespread the issue is, as well as information about the locations where cases are high, and information about companioned crimes like domestic violence or human trafficking. We also recommended that the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior make a plan for implementing various requirements related to improving the federal response. Some efforts are underway, but the agency still need to implement others. [Holly Hobbs:] And ladies, last question. What's the bottom line of this report? Anna Maria, let's start with you. [Anna Maria Ortiz:] We know from our research, as well as our discussions with federal officials, law enforcement, and tribal stakeholders that violence against indigenous women is a crisis in the United States. The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior have an important role to play in promoting public safety for all people, including American Indian and Alaska native women, both inside and outside of Indian country. [Holly Hobbs:] And Gretta? [Gretta Goodwin:] There's a lot of federal focus and attention being paid to this ongoing crisis, as well as to how the federal government is responding. And there needs to be more progress made in addressing not only the concerns of Congress, but also the concerns of tribal communities who are so impacted by these issues. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Gretta Goodwin and Anna Maria Ortiz talking about GAO's recent report on federal efforts to address violence against indigenous women. Thank you both for your time. [Anna Maria Ortiz:] Thank you. [Gretta Goodwin:] Thank you, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. And make sure to leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.