U.S. President Barack Obama signed Monday (Nov. 21) the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act, a law in honor of the Peace Corps volunteer who was murdered in the West African country of Benin in 2009.
The law would require the Peace Corps to provide protection to whistleblowers like Puzey, improve training of volunteers in the event of an attack or sexual assault, and hire advocates for victims in the regions they serve.
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who introduced the bill along with Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) in the summer this year, called the day “historic” for Peace Corps volunteers.
“May this new law honor the life of the remarkable young woman, Kate Puzey, as it ensures that the courageous young men and women who serve in the Peace Corps have the protections they rightly deserve,” he said, ABC News reports.
Puzey, 24, was found dead on her porch, throat slit, days after sending emails to a superior about a colleague she suspected to be molesting young female students.
Her murder was just one of the many reported incidents of violence against female Peace Corps volunteers. According to the organization, reported in International Business Times, an average of 22 female Peace Corps volunteers reported incidents of sexual assault every year from 2000 to 2009.
“It’s hard for us with Kate being gone,” said Puzey’s father, Harry. “[The law] gave us something to be thankful for at Thanksgiving.”
The suspects in Puzey’s case are in jail, but have yet to go on trial.
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