"As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act this year, the nearly two-decade-old legislation will finally address an issue that hasn’t been dealt with federally—sexual assault and domestic violence against Native American women.

Originally drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden, the VAWA was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994 to recognize the severity of crimes related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and violence against women. At the time, the National Organization for Women called the legislation "the greatest breakthrough in civil rights for women in nearly two decades." The act provides funding for investigating and prosecuting domestic violence, as well as for emergency family shelters and domestic abuse hotlines.

In an effort to protect Native women, the Department of Justice has added provisions to the act, hoping Congress will approve them when reauthorizing it. These provisions would:

Recognize the possibility for concurrent criminal tribal jurisdiction to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence both Indians and non-Indians who assault Indian spouses, intimate partners, or dating partners, or who violate protection orders, while in Indian country.

Ensure tribal courts have civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce protection orders against Indians and non-Indians.

Change the Federal Criminal Code so that assaulting a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling or suffocation would be a ten-year offense; assaulting a spouse or partner resulting in substantial bodily injury would carry a five-year sentence; and assaulting a person by striking, beating, or wounding would be subject to one-year of jail time."

Get the Story:
Violence Against Women Act Up for Reauthorization (Campus Progress 8/4)

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