Action Alert: Help protect Indigenous women and girls

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There are two things happening in the US right now that can make a material difference in the safety of Indigenous women and girls. One is the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSIA), which would modify, expand, and reauthorize the Family Violence and Prevention Services program, which funds emergency shelters and assists victims of domestic violence. The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants and cooperate with state and tribal domestic violence coalitions and community-based organizations to support prevention services. The other is Savanna’s Act, which directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review, revise, and develop comprehensive law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing or murdered Native People.

FVPSIA has already passed through the House of Representatives but now needs Senate approval. The act would modify, expand, and reauthorize the Family Violence and Prevention Services program, which funds emergency shelters and assists victims of domestic violence. The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants and cooperate with state and tribal domestic violence coalitions and community-based organizations to support prevention services.

Both of these acts are under discussion and need more support to become law. The Lakota Law project has a widget and script that will help you email your senators and the US Attorney General to ask them to support these acts.