VIDEO: Chair Grijalva Speaks on ‘Violence Against Women Act’ Amendments to Protect Native Women, Reverse Lack of Federal Prosecutions

Washington D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) yesterday introduced two bipartisan amendments to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, which just passed the House of Representatives.

Video of Grijalva’s remarks in favor of both amendments is available at https://bit.ly/2FMnrYx.

Grijalva’s first amendment expands the definition of domestic violence in the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the bill, to include violence against or witnessed by a child under the age of 18, or an elder (as defined by tribal law). The second amendment alleviates the costs tribes incur due to the expansion of criminal jurisdiction. The amendment provides language allowing the Attorney General to award grants to tribes to improve law enforcement, tribal court personnel and criminal codes.

As Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, Grijalva is helping lead the congressional effort to end the epidemic of violence against Native women. In 2016, the National Institute of Justice report found that 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women had experienced violence in their lifetime.

In March, the Natural Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States held a hearing to examine the silent crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. The hearing featured four Native American women as expert witnesses, who testified that Congress and federal agencies have not honored their trust responsibilities to Native communities and that stopping the epidemic of violence against Native women will take time and resources not currently being offered.

Press Contact

Adam Sarvana 

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