Three DOJ Reports Refute AOC’s Claim of ‘High Correlation’ Between Oil Extraction and Violence Against Women

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Three DOJ Reports Refute AOC’s Claim of ‘High Correlation’ Between Oil Extraction and Violence Against Women

WASHINGTON / March 18, 2022 – At a recent House of Representatives hearing, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez made the claim that the existence of fossil fuel extraction sites is linked to violence against Native American women. But three Department of Justice reports reveal this claim to be entirely untrue.

On March 3, the House of Representatives convened a hearing on Missing BIPOC Women and Girls, with BIPOC referring to “Black, Indian, and Persons of Color.” The hearing ignored the problem of missing BIPOC men and boys, even though their numbers are greater than missing BIPOC women and girls (Page 8).

In attendance at the hearing was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York. During the question-and-answer period, Ocasio-Cortez stated, “Today, I want to discuss part of this crisis that is all too often overlooked, but whose evidence shows that there’s a very meaningful connection here: The correlation between fossil fuel extraction sites and abductions and murders of indigenous women across the United States.”

AOC then posed this question: “Why is it that oil, gas, and fossil fuel extraction sites have such a high correlation of violence and abduction against Native women?” AOC was referring to the Bakken oil-producing fields of western North Dakota and eastern Montana.

But three Department of Justice (DOJ) reports refute the veracity of the Ocasio-Cortez claim.

First, U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon reported in 2014 reported an increase in the number of criminal defendants in federal court in western North Dakota. According to the media account, “Purdon said a big reason for the increase is the number of multi-defendant drug conspiracy indictments in western North Dakota.” The article did not mention an increase in other types of crimes such as abductions or crimes against women.

Second, the Department of Justice conducted an in-depth analysis of crime trends in that area. Relying on data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, “Violent Victimization Known to Law Enforcement in the Bakken Oil-Producing Region of Montana and North Dakota, 2006-2012” concluded that overall crime rates in the Bakken area indeed increased over the seven-year period.

But rapes, sexual assaults and other violent crimes against women actually declined during those years. The DOJ report concludes, “Females in the Bakken region experienced reductions in the rate at which they experienced homicide, rape and sexual assault, and robbery from 2006 to 2012.” In 2006, the rate for rape/sexual assault against women was 15.5 per 10,000 persons in the Bakken region. This number fell to 15.2/10,000 by 2012, representing a 2% decline (Table 6).

The DOJ report did cite a 32.8% increase in intimate partner violence (Table 2), but the significance of this finding is unclear. Domestic violence cases are known to suffer from inconsistent reporting rates, because many partner abuse cases do not meet the legal definition of a “crime.”

Third, a DOJ report on “Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics” reported that less than one percent – 0.1% — of all missing persons across the country – were coded as “Abducted by Stranger.” Such small numbers cannot support the conclusion of a “high correlation of violence and abduction against Native women.”

To stop domestic violence, the Coalition to End Domestic Violence urges lawmakers to assure that hearings and proposed laws are based on evidence and fact, not one-sided narratives.