Turtle Talk

Here.

An excerpt:

Lorena Halwood, who works with domestic violence victims on the Navajo Nation, said family abuse violates not only the law but the traditional Navajo way of life, which preaches harmony and talking with one another to mitigate problems. She stood with others in the Navajo Nation’s capital this week, asking tribal lawmakers to support legislation that would specifically criminalize domestic violence for the first time on the reservation.

“A lot of the victims have come to accept there’s nothing anybody can do,” she said.

Halwood’s work with domestic violence spans 16 years, creating a network of safe houses for victims awaiting transport to one of two shelters on the 27,000-square-mile reservation, the size of West Virginia. She’s seen broken jaws and noses, sexual assault and rape cases, and has made 2 a.m. visits to the emergency room.

Tribal police often are late in arriving to the scene because of the remoteness of the reservation. Halwood said women’s in-laws often blame them for the abuse, and women find it difficult to leave without transportation or a support system.

She welcomed any change that would make offenders realize they’re not getting off with what she says commonly is a slap on the wrist and a warning not to hit a woman again.

“If we have harsher penalties, stiffer sentences, then maybe they’ll see `I’m not supposed to be doing this. The next time I might spend more time in jail away from my family, my children,'” she said.