Obama signs Peace Corps bill named for slain Cumming woman

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By Associated Press

For the AJC

President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill named for a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer from Cumming killed in 2009 in West Africa.

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Kate Puzey stands in a field of grass the day before it was to be burned down in preparation for "La Chasse" or "the hunt," when local families hunt animals for food.

EMILIE JACOBS-FINNEGAN Kate Puzey stands in a field of grass the day before it was to be burned down in preparation for "La Chasse" or "the hunt," when local families hunt animals for food.

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The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act is aimed at providing better security and protection for Peace Corps volunteers and was introduced by Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson.

Puzey was killed in Badjoude, Benin, soon after she reported a colleague for allegedly molesting some of the young girls they taught.

Isakson, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on African Affairs, introduced the legislation with California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in July.

The legislation provides whistleblower protection for Peace Corps volunteers and requires the Peace Corps to develop sexual assault risk-reduction and response training and protocol.