Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Protect our Native Women Act of 2013”.
Protect our Native Women Act of 2013
A BILL
To enhance training and cooperation between law enforcement officers to respond to and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian country, to swiftly bring perpetrators to justice, to commission a GAO study, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Assistant United States attorney domestic violence tribal liaisons
Section 13(b) of the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2810(b)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
“(9) Serving as domestic violence tribal liaison by doing the following:
“(A) Encouraging and assisting in arrests and Federal prosecution for crimes, including misdemeanor crimes, of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking that occur in Indian country.
“(B) Conducting training sessions for law enforcement officers and other individuals and entities responsible for responding to crimes in Indian country to ensure that such officers, individuals, and entities—
“(i) understand their arrest authority over offenders; and
“(ii) are prepared to respond to victims of such crimes.
“(C) Developing multidisciplinary teams to combat domestic and sexual violence offenses against Indians.
“(D) Consulting and coordinating with tribal justice officials and victims’ advocates to address any backlog in the prosecution of crimes, including misdemeanor crimes, of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking that occur in Indian country.
“(E) Developing working relationships and maintaining communication with tribal leaders, tribal community and victims’ advocates, and tribal justice officials to gather information from, and share appropriate information with, tribal justice officials.”
Sec. 3 Special attorneys
Section 543(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended—
by striking “, including” and all that follows through “Indian country”; and
by adding at the end the following: “The Attorney General shall appoint qualified tribal prosecutors and other qualified attorneys to assist in prosecuting Federal offenses committed in the Indian country of no fewer than 10 federally recognized tribes, with a preference given to those tribes with the highest rates of domestic violence and sexual assault, compared to other federally recognized tribes.”.
Sec. 4 GAO study
The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Congress a report on—
the prevalence of domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian Country;
the efforts of Federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Indian Affairs, to investigate these crimes; and
Federal initiatives, such as grants, training, and technical assistance, to help address and prevent such violence.