Definitions of Domestic Violence - Navajo Nation

Defined in Domestic Violence Civil Laws

This issue is not addressed in the Tribal codes reviewed.

Defined in Child Abuse Reporting and Child Protection Laws

This issue is not addressed in the Tribal codes reviewed.

Defined in Criminal Laws
Citation: Navajo Code Tit. 9, § 1605(A)

'Domestic abuse' means the infliction of any of the following acts upon a victim as defined in § 1605(B): 

• 'Assault': an attempt to cause bodily harm to another through the use of force, or the creation in another of a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm
• 'Battery: application of force to the person of another resulting in bodily harm or an offensive touching
• 'Threatening': words or conduct that place another in fear of bodily harm or property damage
• 'Coercion': compelling an unwilling person, through force or threat of force, to do either of the following
  • Engage in conduct which the person has a right to abstain from
  • Abstain from conduct which the person has a right to engage in
• 'Confinement': compelling a person to go where the person does not wish to go or to remain where the person does not wish to remain
• 'Damage to property': damaging the property of another
• 'Emotional abuse': using threats, intimidation, or extreme ridicule to inflict humiliation and emotional suffering upon another
• 'Harassment': conduct that causes emotional alarm and distress to another by shaming, degrading, humiliating, placing in fear, or otherwise abusing personal dignity, including, but not limited to, the following: 
  • Unwelcome visiting or following of a person
  • Unwelcome sexual propositioning, reference to body functions or attributes, or other comments of a sexual nature
  • Unwelcome communications, made by phone or by other methods, containing intimidating, taunting, insulting, berating, humiliating, offensive, threatening, or violent language
  • Unwelcome lingering around the home, school, or workplace of a person

Persons Included in the Definitions
Citation: Navajo Code Tit. 9, § 1605(B)

'Victim' means any of the following persons who have been directly affected by domestic abuse as defined in § 1605(A):

• Any member or former member of the abuser's household or immediate residence areas
• Any person involved in or formerly involved in an intimate relationship with the abuser
• Any person who interacts with the abuser in an employment, academic, recreational, religious, social, or other setting
• Any offspring of the abuser
• Any relative or clan member of the abuser
• Any elderly person
• Any vulnerable person

Examples of vulnerability that give rise to the protection of this act include, but are not limited to, emotional and physical disabilities and impairments.