We heard testimony tonight on House File 3375 in our Government Operations and Election Policy Committee. This legislation will create a Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The testimony from all the women made very clear how prevalent assault, murder, and kidnapping is in their communities. It was very moving.
One of the charges for the Task Force will be to examine and report on the systemic causes behind violence that indigenous women and girls experience, including patterns and underlying factors that explain why higher levels of violence occur against indigenous women and girls, including underlying historical, social, economic institutional, and cultural factors which may contribute to the violence. The women look to the Task Force as a step in the right direction to end the history of violence.
I have signed onto HF 3375.