IV

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 344

Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 7, 2002

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mrs. BIGGERT, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD,

Mr. LANTOS, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. WATERS,

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.

LEVIN, Mr. FILNER, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. LUTHER, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr.

LANGEVIN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SOLIS,

Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Ms. WATSON of California) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day.

Whereas women worldwide are contributing to the growth of

economies, participating in the world of diplomacy and

politics, and improving the quality of the lives of their

families, communities, and nations;

Whereas pervasive discrimination continues to deny women

full political and economic equality and is often the basis

for violations of women’s basic human rights;
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Whereas the lives and health of women and girls continues

to be endangered by violence which is directed at them

simply because they are women or girls;

Whereas violence against women and girls includes rape, genital mutilation, sexual assault, domestic violence, honor

killings, sexual trafficking, dowry-related violence, female

infanticide, sex-selection abortion, forced sterilization,

and forced abortion;

Whereas an analysis by the World Bank indicates that between 25 percent and 50 percent of all women have been

battered by an intimate partner;

Whereas, according to the United Nations Commission on the

Status of Women, worldwide at least 1 out of every 3

women and girls has been beaten or sexually abused in

her lifetime;

Whereas, according to the Center for Disease Control and

Prevention, at least 1 out of every 6 women and girls in

the United States has been beaten or sexually abused in

her lifetime;

Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, a woman

is battered, usually by an intimate partner, every 15 seconds in the United States;

Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, a woman

is raped every 90 seconds in the United States;

Whereas, according to the American Medical Association, approximately 1 out of every 5 adolescent girls in the

United States has been physically or sexually abused by

a person who the girl was dating;

Whereas, according to the United States Agency for International Development, only 17 countries consider marital

rape to be a criminal offense;
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Whereas worldwide women account for almost half of all

cases of HIV/AIDS;

Whereas in countries with a high HIV prevalence, young

women are at a higher risk of contracting HIV than

young men;

Whereas sexual violence, including marital rape, has been denounced as a major cause of the rapid spread of HIV/

AIDS among women;

Whereas, according to the United States Agency for International Development, two-thirds of the 876,000,000 illiterate individuals worldwide are women;

Whereas, according to the United States Agency for International Development, two-thirds of the 125,000,000

school-aged children who are not attending school worldwide are girls;

Whereas girls are less likely than boys to complete school;

Whereas, according to the United States Development Program, women and children account for 70 percent of the

1,300,000,000 poorest people;

Whereas, according to the report of the General Accounting

Office ‘‘Women and Management’’, in the United States

between 1995 and 2000 female managers earned less

than their male counterparts in the 10 industries that

employ the vast majority of all female employees;

Whereas, according to the World Bank, worldwide women remain vastly underrepresented in national and local assemblies, accounting on average for less than 10 percent

of the seats in parliament, except for East Asia where the

figure is approximately 18 to 19 percent, and in no developing region do women hold more than 8 percent of the

ministerial positions;
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Whereas, according to the Congressional Research Service

and the Department of State, illegal trafficking in women

and children for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation involves between 1,000,000 and

2,000,000 women and children each year, of whom

50,000 are transported into the United States;

Whereas women still earn less, own less property, and have

less access to education, employment, and health care

than do men;

Whereas March 8 has become known as International Women’s Day and is a day on which women, often divided by

ethnicity, language, culture, and income, come together

to celebrate a common struggle for equality, justice, and

peace;

Whereas the dedication and successes of those who are fighting for gender equality and working to end violence

against women and girls should be recognized; and

Whereas the people of the United States should be encouraged to participate in International Women’s Day: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) supports the goals of International Women’s

4 Day;

5 (2) recognizes and honors the women in the

6 United States and in other countries who have

7 fought and continue to struggle for gender equality

8 and women’s rights;
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1 (3) reaffirms its commitment to ending dis2 crimination and violence against women and girls, to

3 ensuring the safety and welfare of women and girls,

4 and to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic

5 rights of women and girls both in the United States

6 and in other countries; and

7 (4) encourages the President to—

8 (A) reaffirm his commitment to pursue

9 policies to protect the health and rights of

10 women and girls; and

11 (B) issue a proclamation calling upon the

12 people of the United States to observe Inter13 national Women’s Day with appropriate pro14 grams and activities.

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