II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2120 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2017 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. MENENDEZ) 

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 2017’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Statement of policy. 


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TITLE I—UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND 

RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY 

Sec. 101. Global strategy requirement. 

Sec. 102. Country plans. 

Sec. 103. Report on priority country selection and country plans. 

Sec. 104. Rule of construction. 

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 one out of every three 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 experiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Nov 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2120.IS S2120

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1 encing sexual violence before reaching 18 years of 

2 age. 

3 (5) Adult male respondents in 6 countries who 

4 had experienced violence as children were signifi5 cantly more likely to report perpetrating intimate 

6 partner violence themselves according to the Inter7 national Men and Gender Equality Survey dataset. 

8 (6) Gender-based violence harms economies and 

9 the workers that fuel them. Despite underreporting, 

10 striking statistics document prevalent forms of gen11 der-based violence globally that affect the world of 

12 work. Worldwide, women are concentrated in low13 wage, insecure jobs in workplaces where they lack 

14 bargaining power, protections against gender-based 

15 violence, safe and confidential reporting systems, re16 course to justice, or access to legal, medical, and 

17 psychosocial services. 

18 (7) Women living in poverty are particularly 

19 vulnerable to gender-based violence. Lack of eco20 nomic opportunities often compels women to use 

21 desperate and dangerous means to provide for them22 selves and their families, risking significant exposure 

23 to sexual exploitation and abuse for both women and 

24 their children. 


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1 (8) Country studies indicate that the risk of 

2 HIV among women who have experienced violence 

3 may be up to three times higher than among those 

4 who have not experience violence. The World Health 

5 Organization found that women who experience inti6 mate partner violence are at more than 50 percent 

7 greater risk of HIV infection, and in some instances 

8 their risk of HIV infection increases four-fold. 

9 Women living with HIV are more likely to experi10 ence violence than other women, and fear of violence 

11 can prevent women from accessing HIV/AIDS infor12 mation and receiving treatment and counseling. 

13 (9) Addressing gender inequality and gender14 based violence is essential to reducing HIV risk and 

15 increasing access to HIV prevention, care and treat16 ment services for women and men. The President’s 

17 Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) sup18 ports significant work in the field to incorporate ef19 forts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio20 lence into existing HIV treatment and prevention 

21 programs. 

22 (10) Prevalence of sexual and physical violence 

23 is higher among persons with disabilities, particu24 larly for adolescents and intimate partners with dis25 abilities, and for men and women with intellectual 


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1 impairments living in institutions. The World Health 

2 Organization reports that rates of gender-based vio3 lence are between 4 and 10 times greater among 

4 persons with disabilities compared to non-disabled 

5 persons. 

6 (11) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women 

7 and girls in humanitarian emergencies, conflict set8 tings, and natural disasters face extreme violence 

9 and threats, including— 

10 (A) being forced to exchange sex for food 

11 and humanitarian supplies; and 

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

13 exploitation, and abuse. 

14 (12) Rape and sexual assault against women 

15 and girls are used to torture, intimidate, and ter16 rorize communities. Rape and sexual assault are 

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

18 Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Syria, Afghani19 stan, Colombia, and South Sudan. 

20 (13) Child and forced marriage of girls— 

21 (A) is a harmful practice that deprives 

22 girls of their dignity and rights and creates bar23 riers to development for communities and coun24 tries; 


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1 (B) is projected to affect more than 

2 140,000,000 girls who will become brides be3 tween 2011 and 2020; 

4 (C) can prematurely end girls’ education, 

5 increase vulnerability to gender-based violence, 

6 and significantly raise the risk of maternal and 

7 infant morbidity or mortality, including the risk 

8 of obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted dis9 eases, including HIV/AIDS; and 

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

11 educational or employment opportunities for 

12 girls, a lack of legal policies and enforcement of 

13 laws, and religious, cultural, and social factors 

14 related to girls’ perceived lack of value, factors 

15 which become particularly acute in conflict and 

16 disaster settings where fears of sexual violence 

17 and overstretched coping mechanisms often 

18 drive child and forced marriage. 

19 (14) Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/ 

20 C) is carried out most often on girls between infancy 

21 and 15 years of age and has impacted more than 

22 125,000,000 girls and women who are alive today. 

23 FGM/C can cause long-term health problems, includ24 ing infertility, complications in childbirth, and in25 creased risk of newborn deaths. 


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1 (15) World Bank data shows that gender in2 equality directly corresponds to increased levels of 

3 political and economic instability within states. Gen4 der-based violence impedes women’s meaningful par5 ticipation in social, political, and economic spheres, 

6 which is essential to the stability and democratiza7 tion of a country. Since women disproportionately 

8 experience gender-based violence during conflict and 

9 post-conflict reconstruction, they can play a pivotal 

10 role in preventing, mitigating, and resolving conflict, 

11 and countering extremism. 

12 (16) Gender-based violence is a contributing 

13 factor to human trafficking. Experts in the field 

14 have reported that women and girls who have experi15 enced gender-based violence and live in societies that 

16 tolerate severe gender discrimination appear to be 

17 more vulnerable to being trafficked. Comprehensive 

18 efforts to reduce human trafficking must include ef19 forts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio20 lence due to the intertwined relationship of the two 

21 crimes. 

22 (17) Faith-based organizations and faith lead23 ers are key partners in the ongoing efforts to pre24 vent and respond to gender-based violence. When 

25 properly engaged and equipped with knowledge and 


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1 resources, such organizations and leaders can play a 

2 significant part in changing behaviors and norms 

3 and reducing gender-based violence. Particularly in 

4 countries that lack effective legal frameworks to ad5 dress gender-based violence, such faith-based organi6 zations and faith leaders have the standing and au7 thority to address harmful practices, such as child 

8 marriage, intimate partner abuses, and acid throw9 ing. 

10 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

11 It is the policy of the United States— 

12 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re13 spond to violence against women and girls around 

14 the world as a matter of basic human rights and to 

15 promote gender equality, economic growth, and im16 proved public health; 

17 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

18 efforts to prevent and respond to violence against 

19 women and girls internationally into United States 

20 foreign policy and foreign assistance programs, in21 cluding peace-building efforts and humanitarian re22 lief and recovery; 

23 (3) to support and build local capacity in devel24 oping countries, including the capacity of govern25 ments at all levels, nongovernmental organizations, 


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1 especially women-led organizations, to prevent and 

2 respond to violence against women and girls; 

3 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col4 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 

5 partners with demonstrated experience in preventing 

6 and responding to violence against women and girls, 

7 including faith-based organizations and women-led 

8 organizations; 

9 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre10 venting and responding to violence against women 

11 and girls internationally, including activities in the 

12 economic, education, health, nutrition, legal, and ju13 dicial sectors; 

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

15 the family, community, local, national, and inter16 national levels, to prevent and respond to violence 

17 against women and girls around the world; 

18 (7) to enhance training by United States per19 sonnel of professional foreign military and police 

20 forces and judicial officials, including specific and 

21 thorough instruction on preventing and responding 

22 to violence against women and girls around the 

23 world; 


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

2 essential element of making sustained reductions in 

3 violence against women and girls; 

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

5 marriage as an important part of United States 

6 Government efforts to prevent violence against girls 

7 and promote gender equality and global health; 

8 (10) to require that all United States contrac9 tors and grantees establish appropriate policies and 

10 take effective measures to prevent violence against 

11 women and girls and sexual exploitation and abuse 

12 within their workforce; 

13 (11) to exert sustained international leadership 

14 to prevent and respond to violence against women 

15 and girls, including in bilateral and multilateral fora; 

16 and 

17 (12) to implement a strategy to prevent and re18 spond to gender-based violence globally. 

19 TITLE I—UNITED STATES STRAT20 EGY TO PREVENT AND RE21 SPOND TO GENDER-BASED VI22 OLENCE GLOBALLY 

23 SEC. 101. GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT. 

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

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1 after, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s 

2 Issues at the Department of State appointed pursuant to 

3 section 201 (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Ambassador4 at-Large’’), in consultation with the Senior Coordinator 

5 for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the 

6 United States Agency for International Development ap7 pointed pursuant to section 202 (referred to in this title 

8 as the ‘‘Senior Coordinator’’), shall— 

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

10 society, including service providers, a United States 

11 global strategy to prevent and respond to violence 

12 against women and girls, using evidence-based inter13 ventions and standards that address the root causes 

14 of, and provide comprehensive responses to, violence 

15 against women and girls; 

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

17 the appropriate congressional committees for com18 ment and review; and 

19 (3) make the strategy publicly available on the 

20 Internet. 

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

22 section, an existing United States strategy to prevent and 

23 respond to violence against women and girls may be 

24 deemed to fulfill the initial requirement under subsection 

25 (a). 


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1 (c) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel2 oping the strategy under subsection (a), the Ambassador3 at-Large and the Senior Coordinator shall consult with— 

4 (1) the heads of relevant Federal agencies; 

5 (2) the Senior Policy Operating Group on Traf6 ficking in Persons; and 

7 (3) representatives of civil society, including 

8 nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organi9 zations, multilateral organizations, local and inter10 national civil society groups, and local service pro11 viders and beneficiaries with demonstrated experi12 ence in addressing violence against women and girls 

13 or promoting gender equality internationally. 

14 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated or oth15 erwise made available to carry out the activities under this 

16 section shall be subject to all applicable restrictions under 

17 Federal law. 

18 SEC. 102. COUNTRY PLANS. 

19 (a) PRIORITY COUNTRY SELECTION.—To further the 

20 objectives of the strategy developed under section 101, the 

21 Ambassador-at-Large and the Senior Coordinator shall 

22 identify not fewer than 4 eligible low-income and lower23 middle income countries that— 


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1 (1) have significant levels of violence against 

2 women and girls, including violence within displaced 

3 communities; 

4 (2) have the governmental or nongovernmental 

5 organizational capacity to manage and implement 

6 gender-based violence prevention and response pro7 gram activities; and 

8 (3) to the extent possible, are geographically, 

9 ethnically, and culturally diverse from each other. 

10 (b) COUNTRY PLANS.—In each country identified 

11 pursuant to subsection (a) the Ambassador-at-Large and 

12 the Senior Coordinator shall develop comprehensive, 

13 multisectoral, and holistic individual country plans de14 signed to address and respond to violence against women 

15 and girls that— 

16 (1) assess and describe the current and poten17 tial capacity of the government of each identified 

18 country and civil society organizations in each such 

19 identified country to address and respond to violence 

20 against women and girls; 

21 (2) identify coordination mechanisms with Fed22 eral agencies that— 

23 (A) have existing programs relevant to the 

24 strategy; 


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1 (B) will be involved in new program activi2 ties; and 

3 (C) are engaged in broader United States 

4 strategies around development; 

5 (3) describe the monitoring and evaluation 

6 mechanisms established for each identified country, 

7 and their intended use in assessing overall preven8 tion and response outcomes; 

9 (4) project the general levels of resources need10 ed to achieve the stated objectives in each identified 

11 country, including an accounting of— 

12 (A) activities and funding already ex13 pended by the Department of State, the United 

14 States Agency for International Development, 

15 other Federal agencies, donor country govern16 ments, and multilateral institutions; and 

17 (B) leveraged private sector resources; and 

18 (5) include strategies, as appropriate, designed 

19 to accommodate the needs of stateless, disabled, in20 ternally displaced, refugee, or religious or ethnic mi21 nority women and girls. 

22 SEC. 103. REPORT ON PRIORITY COUNTRY SELECTION AND 

23 COUNTRY PLANS. 

24 Not later than 90 days after priority countries are 

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1 after, the Ambassador-at-Large and the Senior Coordi2 nator shall submit a report to the appropriate congres3 sional committees that— 

4 (1) details the priority country selection process 

5 and the development of specific country plans; and 

6 (2) includes an overview of— 

7 (A) all programming and specific activities 

8 being undertaken; 

9 (B) the budget resources requested by each 

10 executive agency; and 

11 (C) the specific activities to be supported 

12 by each executive agency under the strategy if 

13 such resources are provided. 

14 SEC. 104. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 Nothing in this title may be construed to authorize 

16 any additional appropriations to carry out the purposes 

17 or initiatives required under this title. 

18 TITLE II—OVERSIGHT AND 

19 ACCOUNTABILITY 

20 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this title: 

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

23 United States Agency for International Develop24 ment. 


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

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

3 Issues appointed by the President pursuant to sec4 tion 202(a). 

5 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the Senate; 

12 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives; and 

14 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

15 the House of Representatives. 

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

17 analysis’’ means the examination of the differential 

18 impact of policies on different genders. 

19 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of20 fice of Global Women’s Issues established by the 

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

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

23 Coordinator’’ means the Senior Coordinator for Gen24 der Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the 

25 Agency. 


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

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

3 establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department 

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

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

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

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

8 Ambassador shall report directly to the Secretary and 

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

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

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

12 State, the Ambassador shall coordinate efforts of the 

13 United States Government as directed by the Secretary 

14 regarding approaches that promote equality and advance 

15 the status of women and girls in United States foreign 

16 policy. 

17 (c) DUTIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador— 

19 (A) in consultation with the Senior Coordi20 nator, shall direct activities, policies, programs, 

21 and funding relating to gender equality and the 

22 advancement of women and girls internation23 ally, including those intended to prevent and re24 spond to violence against women and girls, for 

25 all bureaus and offices of the Department of 


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1 State and in the international programs of all 

2 other Federal agencies; 

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 vio15 lence against women and girls 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 violence against women and 

20 girls internationally; 

21 (E) shall conduct regular consultation with 

22 civil society organizations working to prevent 

23 and respond to violence against women and 

24 girls internationally; 


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1 (F) shall ensure that programs, projects, 

2 and activities designed to prevent and respond 

3 to violence against women and girls internation4 ally are subject to rigorous monitoring and eval5 uation, and that there is a uniform set of indi6 cators and standards for such monitoring and 

7 evaluation that is used across all Federal agen8 cies; 

9 (G) shall serve as the principal advisor to 

10 the Secretary of State regarding gender equal11 ity, women’s empowerment, and violence 

12 against women and girls as a foreign policy 

13 matter; and 

14 (H) is authorized to represent the United 

15 States in diplomatic and multilateral fora on 

16 matters relevant to the status of women and 

17 girls, including violence against women and 

18 girls internationally. 

19 (2) INFORMATION SHARING AND TRANS20 PARENCY.—The Office— 

21 (A) shall be the central repository of data 

22 on all United States programs, projects, and ac23 tivities that relate to prevention and response to 

24 violence against women and girls; and 


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1 (B) shall produce a full accounting of 

2 United States Government spending on such 

3 programs, projects, and activities. 

4 SEC. 203. SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY 

5 AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. 

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

7 Agency the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender 

8 Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The Senior Coordi9 nator shall— 

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

11 and 

12 (2) conduct the activities of the Administrator 

13 under this Act. 

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

15 (1) in consultation with the Ambassador, shall 

16 direct activities, policies, programs, and funding of 

17 the Agency relating to gender equality and women’s 

18 empowerment, including those intended to prevent 

19 and respond to violence against women and girls; 

20 (2) shall actively promote and advance the inte21 gration of gender analysis into the programs, struc22 tures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus and 

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

24 Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy; 


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1 (3) shall direct Agency resources for gender 

2 equality and women’s empowerment, including to 

3 prevent and respond to violence against women and 

4 girls internationally; 

5 (4) may design, support, and implement activi6 ties led by the Agency regarding gender equality and 

7 women’s empowerment, including for the prevention 

8 and response to violence against women and girls 

9 internationally; 

10 (5) shall conduct regular consultation with civil 

11 society organizations working to prevent and re12 spond to violence against women and girls inter13 nationally; 

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

15 Administrator regarding gender equality, women’s 

16 empowerment, and violence against women and girls; 

17 and 

18 (7) shall track and analyze monitoring and eval19 uation data and findings on international prevention 

20 and response programs of the Agency, consistent 

21 with Agency-wide monitoring and evaluation activi22 ties, to assist in the preparation of the comprehen23 sive strategy developed under section 101(a). 


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1 SEC. 204. BRIEFING. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambassador 

4 and the Senior Coordinator shall provide, to the appro5 priate congressional committees— 

6 (1) a briefing on international violence against 

7 women and girls prevention and response strategies, 

8 programming, and associated outcomes; and 

9 (2) an assessment of human and financial re10 sources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties 

11 under this Act. 

Æ 


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