Column: Working Together for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Statement

"May we take a moment to commemorate all the women and families in our community impacted by the missing and murdered crisis," remarked Emily Washines during a Facebook live event on May 5, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

As Native American tribes and communities gathered virtually to honor the women and girls who have been murdered or gone missing at alarming rates in Central Washington and across the country, the glaring question remains: When will Congress take action to help?

For decades, indigenous women have faced a murder rate of 10 times the national average. The lack of a streamlined reporting apparatus and accurate data combined with jurisdictional challenges have left tribes and local communities with an uphill battle to deliver justice for indigenous women and their loved ones.

I have worked with tribal leaders and law enforcement across Washington state to hear directly from our communities about how the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) affects their loved ones. From what I have learned, there is a critical need for additional resources and federal assistance to address this crisis that affects not only our Native American tribes and reservations but surrounding communities as well.

President Trump has taken important steps to learn more about MMIW by creating a task force to focus on ways the Administration can help alleviate this crisis. Savanna's Act, a bill I introduced in May of 2019, aims to empower local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement to develop best practices for reporting and investigating MMIW cases. This bipartisan bill was passed by the House Judiciary Committee in March and now awaits action before the full House of Representatives. By passing legislation like Savanna's Act to be signed into law, we can provide a much-needed glimmer of hope for our communities.

Unfortunately, this crisis is only exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak, with economies shut down and domestic violence rates on the rise.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is another tool that could be used to meet the needs of these women, which authorizes programs for victims of domestic abuse and additional programs specifically for Native American tribes. VAWA has historically been a strong, bipartisan effort by Congress to provide resources for these women, children, and families. From funding for shelters to counseling services, the resources authorized by VAWA are a critical piece of the puzzle to stop domestic violence, but these provisions have been expired for over a year.

Democrats in the House proposed a partisan reauthorization of VAWA in 2019. While I fully support the spirit of this important law, I voted against this reauthorization because I believe it would have limited access to resources for women and families in Central Washington.

We need bipartisan agreement in both the House and the Senate to reauthorize VAWA, and there is an effort to include a "clean reauthorization" of the law in the next coronavirus relief package, which would provide aid for our communities during this pandemic and beyond. This is one step we can take to make sure we have this safety net for women and families, both on reservations and off.

Though we are physically apart, we must work together to deliver justice to missing and murdered indigenous women. By spreading awareness and making our voices heard, we are making progress; but we must take strong, decisive actions to provide the resources and relief our Native American friends and neighbors need.

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