Other LanguagesWould create first ever such alert system in the nation
OLYMPIA — Today the Legislature passed Attorney General requested legislation sponsored by Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Anacortes, creating an alert in Washington state to help identify and locate missing Indigenous women and people. The alert system will be the first of its kind in the nation.
The system will be similar to “silver alerts” for missing vulnerable adults. When activated, the alert will broadcast information about missing Indigenous women and people on message signs and in highway advisory radio messages. It also will provide the information through press releases to local and regional media.
Indigenous women and people go missing and are murdered at rates higher than any other ethnic group in the United States. In Washington, more than four times as many Indigenous women go missing than white women, according to research conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle.
The bill, House Bill 1725, passed the House in late January with a 95-0 unanimous vote then passed the Senate on March 3 with a 46-0 unanimous vote, but with an amendment that the House needed to approve. The House passed the amended version today with a unanimous 98-0 vote.
The bill now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature.
“We must do everything we can to address the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women and people in the state,” Ferguson said. “This alert system will provide a way to quickly and safely locate anyone who goes missing. I look forward to seeing the governor sign this into law.”
“The unheard screams of missing and murdered people will be heard across Washington state with the implementation of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Alert System,” said Rep. Lekanoff. “Too many Indigenous mothers, sisters, wives and daughters have been torn from their families and their children raised without mothers. This crisis impacts every one of our families and communities and it takes collaboration among all governing bodies, law enforcement and media to bring awareness and stop these horrific crimes.”
Every legislative session Attorney General Ferguson introduces a slate of Attorney General Request bills. “Attorney General Request” is a formal designation for bills proposed by his office. Since 2013, 27 Attorney General Request bills have been signed into law.
Silver alerts have a proven record
Washington is one of 37 states with a “silver alert” system for missing vulnerable adults. States that report data on “silver alerts” report a high success rate. For example:
- Wisconsin reported a 96 percent success rate for locating missing vulnerable adults with its silver alert system during its first three years (180 of 188 vulnerable adults located);
- Texas reported a 92 percent success rate during the first year of its silver alert system (48 of 52 missing vulnerable adults located safely).
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force
The Washington State Legislature created the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force as part of the effort to coordinate a statewide response to the urgent crisis of Indigenous people who go missing, are the victims of homicide or experience other types of gender-based violence in urban and tribal communities.
The Attorney General’s Office is facilitating the task force, providing staffing and support for its work. Rep. Lekanoff is a member of the task force’s executive committee.
Tribes, community members and grassroots activists have done substantial work to identify current challenges regarding data, reporting practices, causes of violence, investigations, prosecutions and direct services that impact the rates of violence against tribal and urban Indigenous communities. The task force will build on these efforts to address barriers and provide recommendations to the Legislature to close these gaps.
Violence against Indigenous women and within Indigenous communities continues to be underreported and misunderstood throughout Indian Country and the United States. Complex issues around jurisdiction and data collection have created obstacles to understanding the full extent of how many Indigenous women have gone missing, been murdered or been the victim of other types of gender-based crime over generations.
The 23-member task force combines the institutional and cultural knowledge of state agencies, tribal nations and Indigenous communities to center the experiences of victims and to approach the work in a way that is responsive to communities and grounded in Indigenous values.
The task force will assess the systemic causes that contribute to disproportionate rates of violence, provide recommendations for addressing barriers and review data collection and reporting protocols. Recognizing that tribal boundaries and communities have extended far beyond contemporary borders, the task force will also address how the surrounding states and Canada are impacted by the jurisdictional and data gaps.
For more information on the task force, visit https://www.atg.wa.gov/washington-state-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-people-task-force.
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