Advocates detail shadow pandemic of violence against women
Associated Press 1 hr ago By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Cases of domestic violence against Indigenous women and children and instances of sexual assault increased over the past year as nonprofit groups and social workers scrambled to meet the added challenges that stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic, advocates said Tuesday.
Their testimony came in the opening session of a two-day summit focused on ending violence against Indigenous women and children. Native American leaders from pueblos throughout New Mexico and from the Navajo Nation gathered virtually for the event.
Advocates detail shadow pandemic of violence against women
sfgate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfgate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo: Meet the press
myjournalcourier.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from myjournalcourier.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In a Tuesday House Budget Committee hearing on the Biden administration’s budget request for fiscal 2022, ranking member Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) said he was “encouraged” by Haaland’s announcement of a unit dedicated to missing and murdered indigenous people within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Haaland praised Operation Lady Justice, the DOJ task force, and said it was initially budgeted at $1 million. The Missing and Murdered Unit, she testified, would have an increased budget of $6 million.
ADVERTISEMENT
Joyce also asked Haaland, the first Indigenous Cabinet secretary, for further details on what work the new unit would perform.
“There’s been a lot of engagement across the government we felt that it was important for this unit to provide the leadership that it needs so everyone is moving in the same direction,” Haaland replied. “The new unit will improve coordination within and outside of the [Bureau of Indian Affairs] to make sure that we’re not missing anythi
/
Indigenous women march to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous Women at the 2019 Women s March in San Francisco, Calif.
A bill that would allocate resources, collect better data and be a resource for Indigenous families when their loved ones go missing is headed to Gov. Kevin Stitt s desk for a signature.
Senate Bill 172 is also known as Ida s Law, named after 29-year-old Cheyenne-Arapaho woman Ida Beard, who went missing in 2015.
Too often, when an Indigenous person ends up missing or is found murdered, family members have a hard time getting answers from the maze of law enforcement agencies because of jurisdictional complexity. This law aims to solve that by creating the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.