page_title: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Utah
section_title: Legislative Efforts
hierarchical_section_title: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Utah / Activism / Legislative Efforts
caption_attribution_description: English: Utah State capitol building
context_page_description: The epidemic of Missing and murdered Indigenous women is not exclusive to any region of the United States, however some states have a higher number of cases. Utah ranked 8th in the United States for the number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Furthermore, the state's capital, Salt Lake City, ranked 9th on the list of cities with the highest number of cases of MMIW. These statistics indicate that Utah is one of the areas that has a more prevalent problem in regards to MMIW.
context_section_description: In recent years, there have been several initiatives and programs presented on both the federal and state levels to attempt and mitigate this issue. In 2019, the Department of Justice under Attorney General William P. Barr established a “National Strategy to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons”. The Attorney General stated, “American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer from unacceptable and disproportionately high levels of violence...women face particularly high rates…”. The initiative allocated resources from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help aid in improving in immediate response, collecting data more accurately, and providing more competent analysis. Utah was among the first 11 states to kickstart this program, working closely with the Office of Tribal Justice and the Office on Violence Against Women. In 2013 the “Violence Against Women Act” was reauthorized. This reauthorization secured greater sovereignty on behalf of tribal governments, enabling them to prosecute cases committed against Indigenous women.  
  Utah also established a branch within the Utah Department of Health specifically dedicated to American Indian populations within the state. This branch went on to publish reports highlighting the “unmet needs” of native populations regarding healthcare within the state of Utah, many of which directly impact the circumstances surrounding violent crimes against Native American women.
  The Utah State Legislature in March 2020 passed a bill requiring a task force specifically dedicated to addressing the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. The task force consists of members of the state legislature as well as representatives of Utah Native American tribes and victim advocate organizations. This task force will work to create “model protocols and procedures” to help address current and previously unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women within the state jurisdiction. This is the second legislative motion passed specifically regarding the MMIW crisis in Utah, the first being the designation of an awareness day for victims as well as Native members of the LGBT+ community.
caption: Utah State Legislature
exif: {"Image Make": "samsung", "Image Model": "SM-G9006V", "Image ExposureTime": "1/405", "Image ExifOffset": "88", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/405", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "[40, 0]", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:11:15 15:52:03", "EXIF FocalLength": "24/5"}