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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5584

 To support foreign assistance programs and diplomatic initiatives to 
              counter violence in the Western Hemisphere.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 18 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

 Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To support foreign assistance programs and diplomatic initiatives to 
              counter violence in the Western Hemisphere.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Countering 
Violence in the Western Hemisphere Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Including gender-based violence in Country Reports on Human 
                            Rights Practices.
Sec. 4. Engagement with women-led local organizations.
Sec. 5. Economic empowerment programming.
Sec. 6. Training local law enforcement.
Sec. 7. Contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence 
                            against Women.
Sec. 8. Educational exchange programming.
Sec. 9. Report on violence as a driver of migration and an indicator of 
                            foreign influence.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States 
        Agency for International Development.
            (3) Violence against women and children.--The term 
        ``violence against women and children'' means any harmful 
        threat or act directed at an individual or group based on 
        actual or perceived biological sex, gender identity or 
        expression, sexual orientation, or a lack of adherence to 
        varying socially-constructed norms around masculinity and 
        femininity.

SEC. 3. INCLUDING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN 
              RIGHTS PRACTICES.

    Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2151n(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (11)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the 
                end; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
            (2) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting a semicolon;
            (3) in paragraph (13)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``Wherever'' and inserting ``wherever''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and 
        extent of gender-based violence.''.

SEC. 4. ENGAGEMENT WITH WOMEN-LED LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) In General.--USAID shall--
            (1) within its model of locally led development, engage 
        partner governments in the Western Hemisphere to develop and 
        implement programming to increase direct local funding to 
        women-led or women-focused nonprofit organizations and local 
        partners working--
                    (A) to counter violence against women and children 
                within their respective communities;
                    (B) to empower victims of violence against women 
                and children; and
                    (C) to support the economic empowerment, financial 
                independence, and security of women; and
            (2) simplify and increase access to resources for local 
        partners working to advance efforts to prevent and address 
        violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere.
    (b) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, USAID shall brief appropriate congressional 
committees regarding its proposed plans to implement subsection (a).
    (c) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of USAID shall submit a 
strategy to the appropriate congressional committees that incorporates 
specific, measurable benchmarks to achieve the purposes described in 
subsection (a).
    (d) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 
5 years, the Administrator of USAID shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a written description of the progress made by 
USAID towards achieving the benchmarks included in the strategy 
submitted pursuant to subsection (c).

SEC. 5. ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMMING.

    The Administrator of USAID shall expand and strengthen the 
implementation of savings groups in the Western Hemisphere by including 
additional partner countries and integrating violence against women and 
children prevention and response activities, such as household 
dialogues.

SEC. 6. TRAINING LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Collaboration.--The Department of State and USAID shall 
collaborate with local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to 
conduct training to report, prevent, investigate, and prosecute 
instances of gender-based violence in the Western Hemisphere.
    (b) Gender-based Violence Prevention Training Program.--The 
Secretary of State shall work with the International Law Enforcement 
Academy San Salvador (ILEA San Salvador) and the Bureau of 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to develop and 
implement a training program for foreign law enforcement officers 
designed to help prevent, investigate, prosecute, and report instances 
of gender-based violence.
    (c) Western Hemisphere Gender-based Violence Law Enforcement 
Engagement Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with 
the USAID Administrator, shall develop and submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a strategy--
            (1) to support law enforcement and criminal justice 
        agencies in reporting, preventing, investigating, and 
        prosecuting instances of gender-based violence in the Western 
        Hemisphere; and
            (2) to increase the focuses of the Department of State and 
        USAID on--
                    (A) rights-based, gender-responsive, and trauma-
                informed training and education on gender-based 
                violence prevention and investigation;
                    (B) proactive engagement with civil society 
                organizations, academia, and international supporting 
                actors for an informed response to gender-based 
                violence; and
                    (C) the standardization of the investigation 
                processes for cases of gender-based violence that take 
                a victim and survivor-centered and rights-based 
                approach.

SEC. 7. CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS TRUST FUND TO END VIOLENCE 
              AGAINST WOMEN.

    Of the amounts made available under the heading ``International 
Organizations and Programs'' for fiscal year 2025 and for each 
subsequent fiscal year, $2,000,000 shall be made available annually for 
the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.

SEC. 8. EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMMING.

    (a) Research Partnerships and Educational Exchange Opportunities.--
The Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator shall strengthen and 
expand research partnerships and educational exchange opportunities for 
scholars, researchers, and students through engagement with 
nongovernmental organizations and private sector institutions that work 
on violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere.
    (b) Fulbright Scholars.--The Assistant Secretary of State for 
Educational and Cultural Affairs shall encourage the participation in 
the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program of researchers, 
scholars, and students who are focused on researching and addressing 
the root causes of violence against women and children in the Western 
Hemisphere.
    (c) Global Forums.--The Ambassador-at-Large for the Office of 
Global Women's Issues shall encourage the involvement of scholars from 
the Western Hemisphere focusing on researching violence against women 
and children in global forums and sessions to share their findings and 
to strengthen the United States' response to violence against women and 
children in the Western Hemisphere.

SEC. 9. REPORT ON VIOLENCE AS A DRIVER OF MIGRATION AND AN INDICATOR OF 
              FOREIGN INFLUENCE.

     Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with the USAID 
Administrator, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
committees that--
            (1) examines the role of violence against women and 
        children in the Western Hemisphere as a driver of irregular 
        migration;
            (2) identifies gaps in the United States' strategy for 
        addressing the root causes of migration in Central America to 
        counter violence against women and children;
            (3) identifies which foreign governments are involved in 
        countering or promoting violence against women and children;
            (4) examines ways in which the United States and its allies 
        can continue as the leading partner in the region on countering 
        violence against women and children; and
            (5) contains a regional analysis of the root causes of 
        violence against women and children and its impact on irregular 
        migration, particular migration originating from Central 
        America and the Andean region.
                                 <all>
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