Tester Delivers Resources to Combat Violence Against Native Women

Salish Kootenai College Receives $300,000 to Combat Violence on Campus

(Billings, Mont.) – As part of his ongoing effort to support Native American women, U.S. Senator Jon Tester recently secured resources to help Salish Kootenai College combat sexual and domestic violence on campus.

The $300,000 grant is administered through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women’s Campus Program, and will allow campus and local officials to collaborate with SAFE Harbor, a non-profit sexual and domestic violence prevention agency in Ronan, to develop assault response protocols, expand training and prevention initiatives, and increase efforts aimed at reducing violence against women.

“Native American women face incredible challenges, and we must provide them with the support they need,” Tester said. “This grant will empower local authorities and enable folks from around the community to work together to combat violence against women and hold those who commit it accountable.”

The DOJ Office on Violence Against Women’s Campus Program works to enhance victim services, implement prevention programs, and strengthen response to sexual and domestic violence though campus-based programs.

Tester has been relentless in his support of survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. In 2017 he helped pass the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act, which invests $481.5 million in the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women, and last week he demanded the Senate hold a hearing on missing and murdered Native American women.

Earlier this year, Tester secured a historic $133 million for tribes to assist survivors of violent crimes through the Crime Victims Fund and is sponsoring legislation to make this source of funding permanent. He is also sponsoring the bipartisan Savanna’s Act to improve information sharing between tribal and federal law enforcement agencies, increase data collection on missing Native American women, and improve response protocols.