II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5242 

To prevent international violence against women, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 13, 2022 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To prevent international violence against women, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.—This Act 

5 may be cited as the ‘‘International Violence Against 

6 Women Act of 2022’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Statement of policy. 

TITLE I—UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND 

RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY 


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Sec. 101. Global strategy requirement. 

TITLE II—OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Office of Global Women’s Issues. 

Sec. 203. Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. 

Sec. 204. Briefing. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) An estimated 1 out of every 3 women 

4 throughout the world will be beaten, coerced into 

5 sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. 

6 (2) Up to 70 percent of women in some coun7 tries report experiencing gender-based violence at 

8 some point in their lives. 

9 (3) Intimate partner violence is the most preva10 lent form of violence against women, preventing 

11 them from playing more active roles in the social, 

12 economic, and political development of their commu13 nities. 

14 (4) Sexual violence among adolescents and pre15 adolescents is alarmingly high. National surveys in 

16 Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Haiti 

17 have found that between 28 and 38 percent of girls 

18 and between 9 and 18 percent of boys report experi19 encing sexual violence before reaching 18 years of 

20 age. 

21 (5) Adult male respondents in 6 countries who 

22 had experienced violence as children were signifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:07 Dec 15, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5242.IS S5242

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1 cantly more likely to report perpetrating intimate 

2 partner violence themselves according to the Inter3 national Men and Gender Equality Survey dataset. 

4 (6) Gender-based violence harms economies and 

5 the workers that fuel them. Despite underreporting, 

6 striking statistics document prevalent forms of gen7 der-based violence globally that affect the world of 

8 work. Worldwide, women are concentrated in low9 wage, insecure jobs in workplaces where they lack 

10 bargaining power, protections against gender-based 

11 violence, safe and confidential reporting systems, re12 course to justice, or access to legal, medical, and 

13 psychosocial services. 

14 (7) Women living in poverty are particularly 

15 vulnerable to gender-based violence. Lack of eco16 nomic opportunities often compels women to use 

17 desperate and dangerous means to provide for them18 selves and their families, risking significant exposure 

19 to labor exploitation and sexual exploitation and 

20 abuse for both women and their children. 

21 (8) Country studies indicate that the risk of 

22 HIV among women who have experienced violence 

23 may be up to three times higher than among those 

24 who have not experienced violence. The World 

25 Health Organization found that women who experiVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:07 Dec 15, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5242.IS S5242

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1 ence intimate partner violence are at more than 50 

2 percent greater risk of HIV infection, and in some 

3 instances their risk of HIV infection increases four4 fold. Women living with HIV are more likely to ex5 perience violence than other women, and fear of vio6 lence can prevent women from accessing HIV/AIDS 

7 information and receiving treatment and counseling. 

8 (9) Addressing gender inequality and gender9 based violence is essential to reducing HIV risk and 

10 increasing access to HIV prevention, care and treat11 ment services for women and men. The President’s 

12 Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) sup13 ports significant work in the field to incorporate ef14 forts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio15 lence into existing HIV treatment and prevention 

16 programs. 

17 (10) Prevalence of sexual and physical violence 

18 is higher among persons with disabilities, particu19 larly for adolescents and intimate partners with dis20 abilities, and for men and women with intellectual 

21 impairments living in institutions. The World Health 

22 Organization reports that rates of gender-based vio23 lence are between 4 and 10 times greater among 

24 persons with disabilities compared to non-disabled 

25 persons. 


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1 (11) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women 

2 and girls in humanitarian emergencies, conflict set3 tings, and natural disasters face extreme violence 

4 and threats, including— 

5 (A) being forced to exchange sex for food 

6 and humanitarian supplies; and 

7 (B) being at increased risk of rape, sexual 

8 exploitation, trafficking, and abuse. 

9 (12) Rape and sexual assault against women 

10 and girls are used to torture, intimidate, and ter11 rorize communities. Rape and sexual assault are 

12 used as tools of war in conflict zones, including the 

13 Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Syria, Afghani14 stan, Colombia, and South Sudan. 

15 (13) Child and forced marriage— 

16 (A) is a harmful practice that deprives 

17 girls and women of their dignity and rights and 

18 creates barriers to development for communities 

19 and countries; 

20 (B) is projected to affect more than 

21 140,000,000 girls around the world who have 

22 been or will be forced into marriage between 

23 2011 and 2020; 

24 (C) can prematurely end girls’ education, 

25 increase vulnerability to gender-based violence, 


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1 and significantly raise the risk of maternal and 

2 infant morbidity or mortality, including the risk 

3 of obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted dis4 eases, including HIV/AIDS; and 

5 (D) is perpetuated by poverty, a lack of 

6 educational or employment opportunities for 

7 girls, a lack of legal policies and enforcement of 

8 laws, and religious, cultural, and social factors 

9 related to girls’ perceived lack of value, factors 

10 which become particularly acute in conflict and 

11 disaster settings where fears of sexual violence 

12 and overstretched coping mechanisms often 

13 drive child and forced marriage. 

14 (14) The harmful practice of female genital mu15 tilation/cutting (FGM/C) is carried out most often 

16 on girls between infancy and 15 years of age and 

17 has impacted more than 125,000,000 girls and 

18 women around the world who are alive today. FGM/ 

19 C can cause long-term health problems, including in20 fertility, complications in childbirth, and increased 

21 risk of newborn deaths. 

22 (15) World Bank data shows that gender in23 equality directly corresponds to increased levels of 

24 political and economic instability within states. Gen25 der-based violence impedes women’s meaningful parVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:07 Dec 15, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5242.IS S5242

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1 ticipation in social, political, and economic spheres, 

2 which is essential to the stability and democratiza3 tion of a country. Since women disproportionately 

4 experience gender-based violence during conflict and 

5 post-conflict reconstruction, they can play a pivotal 

6 role in preventing, mitigating, and resolving conflict, 

7 and countering extremism. 

8 (16) Gender-based violence is a contributing 

9 factor to human trafficking. Experts in the field 

10 have reported that women and girls who have experi11 enced gender-based violence and live in societies that 

12 tolerate severe gender discrimination appear to be 

13 more vulnerable to being trafficked. Comprehensive 

14 efforts to reduce human trafficking must include ef15 forts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio16 lence due to the intertwined relationship of the two 

17 crimes. 

18 (17) Faith-based organizations and faith lead19 ers are key partners in the ongoing efforts to pre20 vent and respond to gender-based violence. When 

21 properly engaged and equipped with knowledge and 

22 resources, such organizations and leaders can play a 

23 significant part in changing behaviors and norms 

24 and reducing gender-based violence. Particularly in 

25 countries that lack effective legal frameworks to adVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:07 Dec 15, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5242.IS S5242

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1 dress gender-based violence, such faith-based organi2 zations and faith leaders have the standing and au3 thority to address harmful practices, such as child 

4 marriage, intimate partner abuses, and acid throw5 ing. 

6 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States— 

8 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re9 spond to gender-based violence around the world as 

10 a matter of basic human rights and to promote gen11 der equality, economic growth, and improved public 

12 health; 

13 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

14 efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio15 lence internationally into United States foreign pol16 icy and foreign assistance programs, including 

17 peace-building efforts and humanitarian relief and 

18 recovery; 

19 (3) to support and build local capacity in devel20 oping countries, including the capacity of govern21 ments at all levels, nongovernmental organizations, 

22 especially women-led organizations, to prevent and 

23 respond to gender-based violence; 

24 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col25 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 


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1 partners with demonstrated experience in preventing 

2 and responding to gender-based violence, including 

3 faith-based organizations and women-led organiza4 tions; 

5 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre6 venting and responding to gender-based violence 

7 internationally, including activities in the economic, 

8 education, health, nutrition, legal, and judicial sec9 tors; 

10 (6) to work at all levels, from the individual to 

11 the family, community, local, national, and inter12 national levels, to prevent and respond to gender13 based violence around the world; 

14 (7) to enhance training by United States per15 sonnel of professional foreign military and police 

16 forces, judicial officials, and other public justice sys17 tem officials, including prosecutors, including spe18 cific and thorough instruction on preventing and re19 sponding to gender-based violence around the world; 

20 (8) to engage men and boys as partners, as an 

21 essential element of making sustained reductions in 

22 gender-based violence; 

23 (9) to include the prevention of child and forced 

24 marriage as an important part of United States 


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1 Government efforts to prevent violence against girls 

2 and promote gender equality and global health; 

3 (10) to require that all United States contrac4 tors and grantees establish appropriate policies and 

5 take effective measures to prevent gender-based vio6 lence and sexual exploitation and abuse, including 

7 within the workforce; 

8 (11) to exert sustained international leadership 

9 to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, in10 cluding in bilateral and multilateral fora; and 

11 (12) to implement a strategy to prevent and re12 spond to gender-based violence globally. 

13 TITLE I—UNITED STATES STRAT14 EGY TO PREVENT AND RE15 SPOND TO GENDER-BASED VI16 OLENCE GLOBALLY 

17 SEC. 101. GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 4 years there20 after, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s 

21 Issues at the Department of State appointed pursuant to 

22 section 201 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Ambas23 sador-at-Large’’), in consultation with the Senior Coordi24 nator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at 

25 the United States Agency for International Development 


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1 appointed pursuant to section 202 (referred to in this sec2 tion as the ‘‘Senior Coordinator’’), shall— 

3 (1) develop or update, in consultation with civil 

4 society, including service providers, a United States 

5 global strategy to prevent and respond to gender6 based violence, using evidence-based interventions 

7 and standards that address the root causes of, and 

8 provide comprehensive responses to, gender-based vi9 olence; 

10 (2) submit the strategy under paragraph (1) to 

11 the appropriate congressional committees for com12 ment and review; and 

13 (3) make the strategy publicly available on the 

14 internet. 

15 (b) INITIAL STRATEGY.—For the purposes of this 

16 section, an existing United States strategy to prevent and 

17 respond to gender-based violence may be deemed to fulfill 

18 the initial requirement under subsection (a). 

19 (c) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel20 oping the strategy under subsection (a), the Ambassador21 at-Large and the Senior Coordinator shall consult with— 

22 (1) the heads of relevant Federal agencies; 

23 (2) the Senior Policy Operating Group on Traf24 ficking in Persons; and 


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1 (3) representatives of civil society, including 

2 nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organi3 zations, multilateral organizations, local and inter4 national civil society groups, and local service pro5 viders and beneficiaries with demonstrated experi6 ence in addressing gender-based violence or pro7 moting gender equality internationally. 

8 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated or oth9 erwise made available to carry out the activities under this 

10 section shall be subject to all applicable restrictions under 

11 Federal law. 

12 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec13 tion may be construed to authorize any additional appro14 priations to carry out the strategy under subsection (a). 

15 TITLE II—OVERSIGHT AND 

16 ACCOUNTABILITY 

17 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this title: 

19 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

20 United States Agency for International Develop21 ment. 

22 (2) AMBASSADOR.—The term ‘‘Ambassador’’ 

23 means the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s 

24 Issues appointed by the President pursuant to sec25 tion 202(a). 


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1 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (4) GENDER ANALYSIS.—The term ‘‘gender 

13 analysis’’— 

14 (A) means a socioeconomic analysis of 

15 available or gathered quantitative and quali16 tative information to identify, understand, and 

17 explain gaps between men and women, which 

18 typically involves examining— 

19 (i) differences in the status of women 

20 and men and differential access to and 

21 control over assets, resources, education, 

22 opportunities, and services; 

23 (ii) the influence of gender roles, 

24 structural barriers, and norms on the divi25 sion of time between paid, unpaid work 


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1 (including the subsistence production and 

2 care for family members), and volunteer 

3 activities; 

4 (iii) the influence of gender roles, 

5 structural barriers, and norms on leader6 ship roles and decision making; con7 straints, opportunities, and entry points 

8 for narrowing gender gaps and empowering 

9 women; and 

10 (iv) potential differential impacts of 

11 development policies and programs on men 

12 and women, including unintended or nega13 tive consequences; and 

14 (B) includes conclusions and recommenda15 tions to enable development policies and pro16 grams— 

17 (i) to narrow gender gaps; and 

18 (ii) to improve the lives of women and 

19 girls. 

20 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of21 fice of Global Women’s Issues established by the 

22 Secretary of State pursuant to section 202(a). 

23 (6) SENIOR COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Senior 

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1 der Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the 

2 Agency. 

3 SEC. 202. OFFICE OF GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 

5 establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department 

6 of State the Office of Global Women’s Issues. The Office 

7 shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global 

8 Women’s Issues, who shall be appointed by the President, 

9 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The 

10 Ambassador shall report directly to the Secretary and 

11 shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large. 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the duties described in 

13 subsection (c) and duties determined by the Secretary of 

14 State, the Ambassador shall coordinate efforts of the 

15 United States Government as directed by the Secretary 

16 regarding approaches that promote equality and advance 

17 the status of women and girls in United States foreign 

18 policy. 

19 (c) DUTIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador— 

21 (A) in consultation with the Senior Coordi22 nator, shall direct activities, policies, programs, 

23 and funding relating to gender equality and the 

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1 spond to gender-based violence, for all bureaus 

2 and offices of the Department of State; 

3 (B) shall actively promote and advance the 

4 integration of gender analysis into the pro5 grams, structures, processes, and capacities of 

6 bureaus and offices of the Department of State 

7 and in the international programs of other Fed8 eral agencies; 

9 (C) shall direct United States Government 

10 resources, as appropriate, to respond to needs 

11 for promoting gender equality and the em12 powerment of women in United States Govern13 ment foreign policies and international pro14 grams, including to prevent and respond to gen15 der-based violence internationally; 

16 (D) may design, support, and implement 

17 activities regarding empowerment of women 

18 internationally, including for the prevention of 

19 and response to gender-based violence inter20 nationally; 

21 (E) shall conduct regular consultation with 

22 civil society organizations working to prevent 

23 and respond to gender-based violence inter24 nationally; 


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1 (F) shall ensure that programs, projects, 

2 and activities designed to prevent and respond 

3 to gender-based violence internationally are sub4 ject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and 

5 that there is a uniform set of indicators and 

6 standards for such monitoring and evaluation 

7 that is used across all Federal agencies; 

8 (G) shall serve as the principal advisor to 

9 the Secretary of State regarding gender equal10 ity, women’s empowerment, and gender-based 

11 violence as a foreign policy matter; and 

12 (H) is authorized to represent the United 

13 States in diplomatic and multilateral fora on 

14 matters relevant to the status of women and 

15 girls, including gender-based violence inter16 nationally. 

17 (2) INFORMATION SHARING AND TRANS18 PARENCY.—The Office— 

19 (A) shall be the central repository of data 

20 on all United States programs, projects, and ac21 tivities that relate to prevention and response to 

22 gender-based violence around the world; and 

23 (B) shall produce a full accounting of 

24 United States Government spending on such 

25 programs, projects, and activities. 


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1 SEC. 203. SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY 

2 AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

4 Agency the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender 

5 Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The Senior Coordi6 nator shall— 

7 (1) report to the Administrator of the Agency; 

8 and 

9 (2) conduct duties as directed by the Adminis10 trator to promote the purposes of this Act. 

11 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator— 

12 (1) in consultation with the Ambassador, shall 

13 coordinate activities, policies, programs, and funding 

14 of the Agency relating to gender equality and wom15 en’s empowerment, including those intended to pre16 vent and respond to gender-based violence; 

17 (2) shall actively promote and advance the inte18 gration of gender analysis into the programs, struc19 tures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus and 

20 offices of the Agency as dictated by the Agency’s 

21 Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy; 

22 (3) shall coordinate Agency resources for gen23 der equality and women’s empowerment, including to 

24 prevent and respond to gender-based violence inter25 nationally; 


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1 (4) may design, support, and implement activi2 ties led by the Agency regarding gender equality and 

3 women’s empowerment, including for the prevention 

4 and response to gender-based violence internation5 ally; 

6 (5) shall conduct regular consultation with civil 

7 society organizations working to prevent and re8 spond to gender-based violence internationally; 

9 (6) shall serve as the principal advisor to the 

10 Administrator regarding gender equality, women’s 

11 empowerment, and gender-based violence; and 

12 (7) shall track and analyze monitoring and eval13 uation data and findings on international prevention 

14 and response programs of the Agency, consistent 

15 with Agency-wide monitoring and evaluation activi16 ties, to assist in the preparation of the comprehen17 sive strategy developed under section 101(a). 

18 SEC. 204. BRIEFING. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambassador 

21 and the Senior Coordinator shall provide, to the appro22 priate congressional committees— 

23 (1) a briefing on international gender-based vio24 lence prevention and response strategies, program25 ming, and associated outcomes; and 


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1 (2) an assessment of human and financial re2 sources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties 

3 under this Act. 

Æ 


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