MADISON / March 31, 2022 – In Wisconsin, 56% of all missing persons are men and boys, according to the federal NamUs database (1). Likewise, 68% of homicide victims in Wisconsin are men (2).
The problem is especially acute among Native American communities. Nationwide, NamUs reveals that two-thirds of missing American Indians are men and boys (1). And 75% of all Native American homicide victims are male, according to the Centers for Disease Control (3).
Any way you look at it, most missing and murdered persons are men and boys.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice sponsors a task force on missing and murdered indigenous persons. But the committee only addresses missing and murdered women. The charter for the Task Force states, “The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force (MMIW) is charged with helping fight the abduction, homicide, violence and trafficking of Indigenous women in Wisconsin.” (4).
There is no Task Force dedicated to the greater problem of missing and murdered men and boys in the State of Wisconsin. But nationwide, most states have embraced the sex-inclusive “Missing and Murdered Indian Persons” approach (5).
The Coalition to End Domestic Violence urges lawmakers to contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice to express your concerns of fundamental unfairness. Call Attorney General Josh Kaul at (608) 266-1221. Tell him that the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force needs a have an inclusive name, an inclusive charter, and inclusive membership. Or create a new Task Force for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Men.
Links:
- https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Search
- https://www.livestories.com/statistics/wisconsin/homicide-assault-deaths-mortality
- https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/ss/ss7008a1.htm
- https://www.doj.state.wi.us/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-task-force
- http://endtodv.org/pr/14-states-now-endorse-sex-inclusive-missing-and-murdered-indian-persons-approach/
