Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696585010539.pdf (United States)
I 113TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3571 To prevent international violence against women, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 21, 2013 Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. HANNA, and Mr. GIBSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To prevent international violence against women, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1.

SHORT TITLE.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Violence Against Women Act of 2013’’.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec.

1.

Short title.

Sec.

2.

Findings.

Sec.

3.

Statement of policy.


TITLE I—INTERNATIONAL PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS Subtitle A—Official Designations and Institutional Changes Sec.

101.

Office for global women’s issues.

Sec.

102.

Senior coordinator for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Sec.

103.
Sec.

103.

Briefing.

Subtitle B—Strategy, Policy, and Programs Sec.

111.

United States strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based vio- lence globally.

Sec.

112.

Implementation of the United States strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally.

Sec.

113.

Monitoring the United States strategy to prevent and respond to gen- der-based violence globally.

SEC.

2.

FINDINGS.
SEC.

2.

FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings: (1) An estimated 1 out of every 3 women throughout the world will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

(2) Up to 70 percent of women in some coun- tries report having been victims of domestic violence at some stage in their lives.

(3) Sexual violence among adolescents and pre- adolescents is alarmingly high.
In 2010, the first na- tionally representative survey of violence against children in Tanzania found that nearly 3 in 10 fe- males and 1 in 7 males experienced sexual violence prior to the age of 18.
(4) The International Men and Gender Equality Survey dataset shows that adult male respondents in 6 countries who had experienced violence as children were significantly more likely to report perpetrating •HR 3571 IH intimate partner violence themselves than their peers who did not experience violence as children.
(5) Violence against women and girls impedes progress in meeting many United States global de- velopment goals, including efforts to stem maternal mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Approxi- mately 1 in 4 women are abused during pregnancy which has been linked to miscarriage, pre-term labor, low birth weight, fetal distress, and death.

(6) Country studies indicate that the risk of HIV among women who have experienced violence may be up to 3 times higher than among those who have not.
Women who have experienced violence are also at higher risk for contracting HIV, and women living with HIV may be up to 3 times more likely to experience violence than other women.

Fear of vi- olence also prevents women from accessing HIV/ AIDS information and receiving treatment and counseling.

(7) The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supports significant work in the field to mainstream gender-based violence into exist- ing HIV programs.
Addressing gender norms and inequities is essential to reducing HIV risk and in- •HR 3571 IH creasing access to HIV prevention, care and treat- ment services for women and men.
(8) Increasing women’s access to economic op- portunities and food security is crucial to preventing and responding to domestic and sexual violence.

In- clusive finance and micro-enterprise reduce levels of intimate partner violence and provide economic inde- pendence for survivors.

(9) Prevalence of sexual violence is higher among persons with disabilities, particularly for ado- lescents and intimate partners with disabilities, and for men and women with intellectual impairments living in institutions.
(10) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women and girls in humanitarian emergencies, conflict set- tings, and natural disasters face extreme violence and threats, including— (A) being forced to exchange sex for food and humanitarian supplies; and (B) being at increased risk of rape, sexual exploitation, and abuse.

(11) Rape and sexual assault against women and girls are used to torture, intimidate, and ter- rorize women and their communities.
•HR 3571 IH (12) Early and forced marriage of the girl- child— (A) is a violation of human rights as it de- nies girls the right to decide when and with whom to marry; (B) is a harmful practice that deprives girls of their dignity, bringing childhood and adolescence to a premature and unnatural end; (C) can end girls’ education and can result in bonded labor or enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation, and violence against the vic- tims; (D) significantly increases the risk of ma- ternal death and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; and (E) is perpetuated by poverty, a lack of educational or employment opportunities for girls, parental concerns to ensure sexual rela- tions within marriage, the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of girls.
(13) World Bank data shows that gender in- equality directly corresponds to increased levels of political and economic instability within states.
•HR 3571 IH (14) Domestic violence is the most prevalent form of violence against women and prevents women from playing more active roles in the social, eco- nomic, and political development of their commu- nities.
In humanitarian crises, this global scourge becomes acute, preventing women from helping to rebuild their countries.

SEC.

3.

STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States— (1) to take effective action to prevent and re- spond to violence against women and girls around the world, as a matter of basic human rights as well as to promote gender equality, economic growth, and improved public health; (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally into United States foreign policy and foreign assistance programs, in- cluding peacebuilding efforts and humanitarian relief and recovery; (3) to support and build local capacity in devel- oping countries, including of governments at all lev- els and nongovernmental organizations, especially women-led organizations, to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls; •HR 3571 IH (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col- laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental partners with demonstrated experience in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, including faith-based organizations and women-led organizations; (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre- venting and responding to violence against women and girls internationally, including activities in the economic, education, health, nutrition, legal, and ju- dicial sectors; (6) to work at all levels, from the individual to the family, community, local, national and inter- national levels, to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls around the globe; (7) to enhance training by United States per- sonnel of professional foreign military and police forces and judicial officials to include specific and thorough instruction on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls around the world; (8) to engage men and boys as partners, as an essential element of making
 sustained reductions in violence against women and girls; •HR 3571 IH (9) to include the prevention of early and forced marriage as an important part of United States Government efforts to prevent violence against girls and promote gender equality and global health; (10) to require that all United States contrac- tors and grantees establish appropriate policies and take effective measures to prevent violence against women and girls and sexual exploitation and abuse within their workforce; (11) to exert sustained international leadership to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, including in bilateral and multilateral fora; (12) to implement the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally; and (13) to implement the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
TITLE I—INTERNATIONAL PRE- VIOLENCE VENTION OF AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS Subtitle A—Official Designations and Institutional Changes SEC.

101.

OFFICE OF GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department •HR 3571 IH 10 11 12 13 of State an Office of Global Women’s Issues (in this sec- tion referred to as the ‘‘Office’’).
The Office shall be head- ed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The Ambassador-at- Large shall report directly to the Secretary and shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
(b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the duties described in subsection (c) and those duties determined by the Sec- retary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large shall coordinate efforts of the United States Government as directed by the Secretary regarding gender integration and advancing the status of women and girls in United States foreign 14 policy.
(c) DUTIES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador-at-Large— (A) shall direct activities, policies, pro- grams, and funding relating to gender equality and the advancement of women and girls inter- nationally, including those intended to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, for all bureaus and offices of the Depart- ment of State and in the international pro- grams of all other Federal agencies; •HR 3571 IH (B) shall actively promote and advance the full integration of gender analysis into the pro- grams, structures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus and offices of the Department of State and in the international programs of other Federal agencies; (C) shall direct, as appropriate, United States Government resources to respond to needs for gender integration and empowerment of women in United States Government foreign policies and international programs, including to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally; (D) may design, support, and implement activities regarding empowerment of women internationally, including for the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls internationally; (E) shall conduct regular consultation with civil society organizations working to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally; (F) shall ensure that programs, projects, and activities designed to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internation- •HR 3571 IH ally are subject to rigorous monitoring and eval-
 uation, and that there is a uniform set of indi- cators and standards for such monitoring and evaluation that is used across all Federal agen- cies; (G) shall serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of State regarding gender equal- ity, women’s empowerment, and violence against women and girls as a foreign policy matter; and (H) is authorized to represent the United States in diplomatic and multilateral fora on matters relevant to the status of women and girls, including violence against women and girls internationally.
(2) INFORMATION SHARING AND TRANS- PARENCY.—The Office shall be the central reposi- tory of data on all United States programs, projects, and activities that relate to prevention and response to violence against women and girls, and shall produce a full accounting of United States Govern- ment spending on such programs, projects, and ac- tivities.
•HR 3571 IH 26 12 SEC.

102.

SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the United States Agency for International Development a Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, who shall report to the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and who shall conduct the activities of the Administrator under this Act.
(b) IN GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator for Gen- der Equality and Women’s Empowerment— (1) shall direct activities, policies, programs, and funding of the United States Agency for Inter- national Development relating to gender equality and women’s empowerment, including those intended to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls; (2) shall actively promote and advance the full integration of gender analysis into the programs, structures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus and offices of the Agency as dictated by the USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy; (3) shall direct Agency resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment, including to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally; •HR 3571 IH 13 (4) may design, support, and implement activi- ties led by the Agency regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment, including for the prevention and response of violence against women and girls internationally; (5) shall conduct regular consultation with civil society organizations working to prevent and re- spond to violence against women and girls inter- nationally; (6) shall serve as the principal advisor to the Administrator regarding gender equality, women’s empowerment, and violence against women and girls; and (7) shall track and analyze monitoring and eval- uation data and findings on international prevention and response programs of the Agency, consistent with Agency-wide monitoring and evaluation activi- ties, and in order to assist in the preparation of the comprehensive strategy developed under section 111.
SEC.

103.

BRIEFING.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambas- sador-at-Large and Senior Coordinator shall brief the ap- propriate congressional committees on international vio- lence against women and girls prevention and response •HR 3571 IH 14 strategies, programming, and associated outcomes, and shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an assessment of human and financial resources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties of this Act.
Subtitle B—Strategy, Policy, and Programs SEC.

111.

UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND RE- SPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOB- ALLY.

(a) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five years, the Ambassador- at-Large, in consultation with the Senior Coordinator, shall develop or update a United States global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.
Such strategy shall be transmitted to the appro- priate congressional committees and made publicly avail- 18 able on the Internet.

19 20 21 22 (b) INITIAL STRATEGY.—For the purposes of this section, the ‘‘United States Strategy to Prevent and Re- spond to Gender-Based Violence Globally’’, issued in Au- gust 2012, shall be deemed to fulfill the initial require- 23 ment of subsection (a).
24 25 (c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after submission of the strategy under subsection (a), •HR 3571 IH 15 the Ambassador-at-Large, in consultation with the Senior Coordinator, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan detailing how the strategy will be implemented in the upcoming five fiscal years, including the budget resources requested, and the specific activities to be supported, by each Executive agen- cy under the strategy.
(d) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel- oping the strategy under subsection (a), the Ambassador- at-Large and Senior Coordinator shall consult with— (1) the heads of relevant Federal agencies; (2) the Senior Policy Operating Group on Traf- ficking in Persons; and (3) representatives of civil society and multi-lat- eral organizations with demonstrated experience in addressing violence against women and girls or pro- moting gender equality internationally.
(e) CONTENT.—The implementation plan required under subsection (c) shall— (1) identify eligible low-income and lower-mid- dle income countries with significant levels of vio- lence against women and girls, including within dis- placed communities, that have the governmental or nongovernmental organizational capacity to manage and implement gender-based violence prevention and •HR 3571 IH 16 response program activities and should, when pos- sible, be geographically, ethnically, and culturally di- verse from one another; (2) select 5 to 20 of the eligible countries iden- tified under paragraph (1) in which to develop com- prehensive and holistic individual country plans that incorporate at least two of the program activities listed in section 112(b); (3) assess and describe the current or potential capacity of the government of each eligible country selected under paragraph (2) and civil society orga- nizations in each such eligible country to address and respond to violence against women and girls; (4) identify coordination mechanisms with Fed- eral agencies that— (A) have existing programs relevant to the strategy; (B) will be involved in new program activi- ties; and (C) are engaged in broader United States strategies around development; (5) describe the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms established for each eligible country, and their intended use in assessing overall progress in prevention and response; •HR 3571 IH 17 (6) project general levels of resources needed to achieve the stated objectives in each eligible country,
 including an accounting of— (A) activities and funding already ex- pended by the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, other Federal agencies, other donor country governments, and other multilateral institu- tions; and (B) leveraged private sector resources; (7) integrate gender analysis into the strategy for each country; and (8) include, as appropriate, strategies designed to accommodate the needs of stateless, disabled, in- ternally displaced, refugee, or religious or ethnic mi- nority women and girls.
SEC.

112.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter- national Development are authorized to provide assistance to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally.
•HR 3571 IH 18 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Assistance provided to each country selected under subsection 111(e)(2) should include at least two of the following ac- tivities: (1) Development and implementation of pro- grams that work to change social norms and atti- tudes so that violence against women and girls is neither condoned nor tolerated.
(2) Promotion of accessible quality educational and literacy opportunities for women and girls.

(3) Promotion of access to economic opportuni- ties, including by increasing distribution, credit, property, and inheritance rights for women and girls.

(4) Development and enforcement of civil and criminal legal and judicial sanctions, protections, trainings, and capacity.

(5) Enhancement of the health sector capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to violence against women and girls.
(c) BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY.—Not less than 10 percent of the amount of assistance provided to an eligible country under this section should be provided to commu- nity-based nongovernmental organizations, with priority given to nongovernmental organizations led by women.
•HR 3571 IH 19 SEC.

113.

MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In each strategy submitted under section 111(a), the Ambassador-at-Large and Senior Co- ordinator shall include an analysis of best practices for preventing and addressing violence against women and girls internationally, which shall include— (1) a description of successful efforts by foreign governments, multilateral institutions, nongovern- mental organizations, educational organizations, and faith-based organizations in preventing and respond- ing to violence against women and girls; (2) recommendations related to best practices, effective strategies, and improvements to enhance the impact of prevention and response efforts; and (3) the impact of activities funded by the strat- egy in preventing and reducing violence against women and girls internationally.
(b) AMENDMENTS.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended— 22 23 24 (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C.
2151n(d))— (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; •HR 3571 IH 20 (B) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, the nature and ex- tent of violence against women and girls.’’; and (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C.
2304)— (A) by redesignating the second subsection designated as subsection (i) as subsection (j); and (B) by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘‘(k) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO VI- OLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS.—The report re- quired by subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, the nature and extent of violence against women and girls.’’.
(c) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—In coordination with relevant officials, and consistent with the monitoring and evaluation policies of their respective agencies, the Ambassador-at-Large and the Senior Coordinator shall develop a plan for monitoring and independent evaluation of programs, projects, and activities carried out under this 25 Act.
The plan shall— •HR 3571 IH 21 (1) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation methodologies to focus on learning, accountability, and policymaking, choosing from among a wide vari- ety of qualitative, quantitative, summative, and formative methods common in the field of social sci- entific inquiry, including impact evaluations; and (2) be included in the implementation plan re- quired under section 111(c).
(d) RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION.—The Sec- retary and the Administrator shall— (1) produce original research or analysis of ef- fective interventions to prevent or respond to vio- lence against women and girls internationally; (2) collect and analyze new or existing data on the scope and extent of all forms of violence against women and girls internationally, including under- documented forms of violence and violence against marginalized groups; (3) conduct research on effective interventions to respond to violence against women and girls inter- nationally, including efforts to scale up effective pro- gramming; and (4) support systemic data collection using inter- nationally comparable indicators, norms, and meth- odologies for measuring the scope, prevalence, and •HR 3571 IH 22 incidence of violence against women and girls inter- nationally.
•HR 3571 IH