Vietnamese-American girl nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by US congressman

California Congresswomen Mimi Walters and Zoe Lofgren nominatedAmanda Nguyen, 26 years old,for the Nobel Peace Prize in May but the information was announced at the end of June, according to the websiteCitizen Truth.

In 2013,Amanda Nguyen was sexually assaulted by a fellow student at Harvard University in Massachusetts. She submitted a medical certificate to the state of Massachusetts and was later given a pamphlet that said the certificate would be destroyed if she did not file an extension, but gave no specific instructions on how to do so.

Despite the statute allowing sexual assault victims 15 years to decide whether or not to file a lawsuit, the authorities will destroy the medical evidence after six months if the victims do not file an extension, forcing Nguyen to do this every six months.

Nguyen drafted and advocated for the Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights,Under the bill, victims of federal sexual assault cases would be notified 60 days before their evidence was destroyed and would have access to their medical information. They would also receive a written notice of their rights in the state where the rape occurred.Her bill was passed by the US Congress and signed by President Obama in October 2016. Currently, 14 states in the US have this law.

She is also the founder of RISE, a nonprofit organization that represents the rights of sexual assault victims across the United States.

The process of considering candidates and awarding the Nobel Peace Prize takes place in Norway. Nominations must be submitted to the Norwegian Nobel Committee by February 1, 2019. The committee does not comment publicly on nominees.

Phuong Vu