Montana. reservations to get sex abuse response teams

BILLINGS — Special response teams to handle sexual assaults are being established on six Montana reservations in a bid to curb high rates of rape and other abuses against American Indians, U.S. Justice Department officials announced Wednesday.

The first-of-its kind pilot program will set up the joint federal-tribal teams to counsel victims and pursue arrests and courtroom justice for perpetrators of sexual abuse.

Federal statistics indicate Indian and Alaska Native women are raped at a higher rate than any other race, with one out of every three Indian women raped in their lifetimes.

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