The following is an excerpt from the Official Press Release issued Thursday by Senator Biden:
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the International Violence Against Women Act, groundbreaking legislation which will, for the first time, integrate the United States’ efforts to end gender-based violence into U.S. foreign assistance programs.
One in three women worldwide will experience gender-based violence in her lifetime, and in some countries, that’s true for 70 percent of women. Every day around the globe, women and girls face domestic violence, rape, forced or child marriage, so-called “honor” killings, dowry-related murder, human trafficking, and female genital mutilation. The United Nations estimates that at least 5,000 “honor” killings take place each year around the world and more than 130,000,000 girls and young women worldwide have been subjected to genital mutilation. A 2006 United Nations Report found that at least 102 member states had no specific laws on domestic violence.
“From the trafficking of women in Eastern Europe, to “honor” killings in Jordan, to rape as a brutal weapon of war in Darfur and the Congo, violence against women is everywhere. It’s a devastating and persistent truth in every country, in every community, and across every social demographic,” said Sen. Biden.
“We cannot expect to reduce poverty and decrease the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS until we have more equitable treatment of women in developing countries. Empowered and educated women are the key to breaking these cycles,” said Sen. Lugar.
Not surprisingly, violence against women and girls has a significant impact on the health and development of countries worldwide. Violence breeds poverty. It impedes economic development because it can prevent girls from going to school, or stop women from holding jobs or inheriting property, or shut down access to critical health care for themselves and their children. Efforts to wipe out AIDS and other diseases are compromised when women are beaten for telling their husbands they are infected. Girls are less likely to attend school when they fear being raped by their teachers.
The International Violence Against Women Act has three main components. Specifically, the legislation:
1. Creates one central Office for Women’s Global Initiatives to coordinate the United States’ policies, programs and resources that deal with women’s issues. Never before has there been one person who reports directly to the Secretary of State on issues related to gender-based violence.
2. Mandates a 5-year comprehensive strategy to fight violence against women in 10 to 20 selected countries and provides a new, dedicated funding stream of $175 million a year to support programs dealing with violence against women in five areas: the criminal and civil justice system, healthcare, girls’ access to education and school safety, women’s economic empowerment, and public awareness campaigns.
3. Requires training, reporting mechanisms and a system for dealing with women and girls afflicted by violence during humanitarian, conflict and post-conflict operations. As the recent reports from the Congo make tragically clear, in situations of humanitarian crises, conflict and post-conflict operations, women and girls are particularly vulnerable to violence. Reports of refugee women being raped while collecting firewood, soldiers sexually abusing girls in exchange for token food items, or women subjected to unimaginable brutality and torture as a tactic of war are shocking in number and inhumanity. There is a dire need for increased training and reporting requirements for refugee workers to help crack down on these brutal acts of violence. In addition, the bill crafts a new designation of “critical outbreaks” and requires emergency measures when rape is used as a weapon of war or in conflicts where violence against women is sharply escalating with impunity.
The International Violence Against Women Act was crafted with the input and expertise of over 100 nongovernmental organizations here and abroad working on gender-based violence, human rights, health care, international development and aid. These groups include Amnesty International, CARE, Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Family Violence Prevention Fund, Human Rights Watch, Inter-Agency Gender Working Group (IGWG), International Rescue Committee Jewish Women International, Legal Momentum, Lutheran World Relief, Women’s Edge Coalition, and Vital Voices Global Partnership. Read the entire press release here.
To contact your political officials and urge them to support this bill, click here.
