The Navajo Police Training Academy (NPTA) last week awarded certificates to the first group of graduates of a new women’s empowerment program focusing on self-defense, situational awareness and assault prevention.
The Lioness Project is a collaboration between NPTA and Diné College designed to empower women and their sense of personal safety. The Navajo-Hopi Observer reports students receive both classroom and practical training on topics related to situational awareness, self-defense, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, cyber-safety, and basic first aid, among other things.
The U.S. Justice Department reports one in three Native women is raped over her lifetime, though other sources say the number is likely higher due to fear of reporting to authorities.
More than 80% of sex crimes on reservations are committed by non-Indian men, who are immune from prosecution by tribal courts.
More information about the Lioness Project is available at (928) 674-2524/2534.