It is a cycle of abuse and its roots lie in factors such as: colonisation, oppression, intergenerational trauma and the ongoing experiences of racism and discrimination.
In Australia and Canada, lateral violence is widely seen as an intergenerational learned pattern and major social problem in indigenous communities.
The trauma within the boarding school systems across the globe within the Indigenous populations not being able to work through these issues has led to substance and alcohol use.
Not being able to have ties to culture predisposes the indigenous communities towards domestic abuse and violence, the aggravating factor in an overwhelming number of the cases involved drugs or alcohol.
[6] An example of inter-generational trauma would be the Corey and Cody Manyshots case involving two Aboriginal youth kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teen.