I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4092 

To improve United States consideration of, and strategic support for, programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence from the onset 

of humanitarian emergencies and build the capacity of humanitarian 

assistance to address the immediate and long-term challenges resulting 

from such violence, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. STEWART, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, and 

Ms. HOULAHAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve United States consideration of, and strategic 

support for, programs to prevent and respond to genderbased violence from the onset of humanitarian emergencies and build the capacity of humanitarian assistance 

to address the immediate and long-term challenges resulting from such violence, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe from the Start 

5 Act of 2019’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4092 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women and 

4 girls in humanitarian emergencies, conflict settings, 

5 and natural disasters face extreme violence and 

6 threats, including— 

7 (A) rape and sexual assault; 

8 (B) domestic or intimate partner violence; 

9 (C) child, early, and forced marriage; 

10 (D) trafficking for the purposes of sexual 

11 exploitation and forced labor; 

12 (E) harmful traditional practices such as 

13 female genital mutilation or cutting; and 

14 (F) harassment, exploitation, and abuse by 

15 humanitarian personnel. 

16 (2) Gender-based violence is known to increase 

17 during humanitarian emergencies. Violent acts such 

18 as intimate partner violence and child marriage that 

19 take place during times of stability are often exacer20 bated during times of crisis. 

21 (3) Nearly one in five women report experi22 encing sexual violence during a humanitarian emer23 gency. For example, according to the United Nations 

24 Organization Stabilization Mission in the Demo25 cratic Republic of the Congo, there was an increase 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4092 IH

1 of 56 percent in reported cases of conflict-related 

2 sexual violence between 2016 and 2017. 

3 (4) Intimate partner violence is pervasive and 

4 becomes increasingly common during times of con5 flict and crisis. Residence in a conflict-affected dis6 trict is associated with a 50-percent increase in risk 

7 of intimate partner violence, and women who have 

8 experienced 4–5 cumulative years of conflict are al9 most 90 percent more likely to experience such vio10 lence than women who are not living in conflict set11 tings. 

12 (5) Child, early, and forced marriages increase 

13 during humanitarian crises as tools of last resort to 

14 cope with economic hardship and to protect girls 

15 from increased violence. Conflict can exacerbate cul16 tural norms of child, early, and forced marriage or 

17 create harmful cultural behaviors where they had 

18 not previously existed. 

19 (6) Women and girls are especially vulnerable 

20 to trafficking during humanitarian crises, particu21 larly by non-State armed groups who abduct and 

22 traffic women and girls for sexual exploitation, do23 mestic servitude, and child, early, and forced mar24 riage, among other forms of exploitation. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4092 IH

1 (7) Crises create markets for exploitative serv2 ices that are too frequently abused by aid workers 

3 and peacekeepers, who seek sexual services from dis4 placed or vulnerable people. In 2018, the United Na5 tions received a total of 148 sexual exploitation and 

6 abuse allegations directly involving United Nations 

7 aid workers, and 111 involving staff from partner 

8 organizations implementing United Nations pro9 grams. 

10 (8) According to United Nations High Commis11 sioner for Refugees, marginalized populations are 

12 particularly at risk of gender-based violence in hu13 manitarian crises, including adolescent girls, older 

14 persons, persons with disabilities, sexual and gender 

15 minorities, and female heads of households. 

16 (9) Gender-based violence is under-reported, 

17 both in times of stability and during crises. While 

18 data may not be immediately available in each crisis 

19 or conflict, evidence shows that gender-based vio20 lence is consistently a major and pressing concern 

21 for women and girls facing humanitarian emergency 

22 contexts and should be assumed to be a protection 

23 concern in all humanitarian planning and risk as24 sessment. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4092 IH

1 (10) Men and boys play a critical role in pre2 venting gender-based violence, and engaging them 

3 alongside women and girls in the transformation of 

4 gender roles that lead to increased rates of gender5 based violence at the onset of emergencies leads to 

6 lasting results. 

7 (11) Survivors of gender-based violence and 

8 their families in humanitarian emergencies require 

9 immediate, life-saving assistance, including post-rape 

10 care or access to other comprehensive medical and 

11 psychosocial services, to address the physical, psy12 chological, and social impacts of gender-based vio13 lence. They also require long-term support such as 

14 opportunities to earn livelihoods, build skills or re15 ceive an education, and access to justice and com16 munity-level reintegration. Early medical interven17 tions after incidents of rape can help to prevent in18 fections, HIV, and pregnancy. 

19 (12) Empowering women to assume leadership 

20 roles in delivering humanitarian response and mean21 ingfully engaging local organizations, including wom22 en’s rights, humanitarian, advocacy, and service-pro23 vider organizations, through training and directed 

24 resources to operate in emergency settings and proVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4092 IH

1 vide life-saving assistance is critical to supporting 

2 survivors or those at risk of gender-based violence. 

3 (13) The international community has priori4 tized addressing the issue of gender-based violence 

5 in humanitarian contexts by launching a Global Call 

6 to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence 

7 in Emergencies in 2013, which the United States 

8 operationalized through establishing a Safe from the 

9 Start initiative, implemented by the Department of 

10 State and the United States Agency for Inter11 national Development. 

12 (14) Safe from the Start aimed to prevent and 

13 respond to gender-based violence at the onset of an 

14 emergency and to provide resources to strengthen 

15 the core capacity of humanitarian assistance imple16 menters to address gender-based violence at the ear17 liest phases of an emergency, including through de18 veloping training, guidelines, toolkits, and other re19 sources to guide operations. 

20 (15) The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Eco21 nomic Empowerment Act (Public Law 115–428) re22 quires the United States ‘‘to strive to eliminate gen23 der-based violence and mitigate its harmful effects 

24 on individuals and communities’’ in its development 

25 cooperation policy. Recognizing the need to prevent 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4092 IH

1 and respond to gender-based violence globally, Con2 gress has appropriated $150,000,000 annually from 

3 fiscal Years 2013–2019 for this purpose. 

4 (16) The United States has further committed 

5 to prevention and response to gender-based violence 

6 globally through the interagency United States 

7 Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based 

8 Violence Globally, the National Action Plan on 

9 Women, Peace, and Security, the U.S. Global Strat10 egy to Empower Adolescent Girls, U.S. Strategy to 

11 Support Women and Girls at Risk from Extremism 

12 and Conflict, and the U.S. Government Strategy on 

13 Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Ad14 versity. 

15 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

16 It is the policy of the United States— 

17 (1) to take effective action to prevent, mitigate, 

18 and respond to gender-based violence in humani19 tarian emergencies around the world to promote re20 spect for basic human rights and gender equality, 

21 economic growth, improved public health, and peace 

22 and stability; 

23 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

24 efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio25 lence in United States foreign policy and foreign asVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4092 IH

1 sistance programs, including conflict prevention, hu2 manitarian relief and recovery, and peace-building 

3 efforts; 

4 (3) to promote accountability and access to jus5 tice for acts of gender-based violence; 

6 (4) to build local capacity in countries respond7 ing to humanitarian crises, including the capacity of 

8 governments at all levels and nongovernmental orga9 nizations, especially women-led organizations, to pre10 vent, mitigate, and respond to gender-based violence; 

11 (5) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col12 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 

13 partners and international organizations, including 

14 women-led organizations, when designing and imple15 menting humanitarian response programs; 

16 (6) to support activities that prevent and miti17 gate the impacts of gender-based violence in humani18 tarian settings and that empower survivors or those 

19 at risk of gender-based violence, including through 

20 economic opportunities, access to education and 

21 skills building, and promotion of women’s leadership 

22 and participation in humanitarian response; 

23 (7) to ensure that international organizations 

24 and nongovernmental organizations receiving fund25 ing from the United States have the capacity and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4092 IH

1 ternal protocols to identify gender-based violence, in2 cluding sexual exploitation and abuse committed by 

3 humanitarian personnel, integrate gender-based vio4 lence prevention and response initiatives into policies 

5 and programs, and report regularly on efforts to 

6 prevent and respond to gender-based violence; 

7 (8) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre8 venting and responding to gender-based violence 

9 globally, including through activities in the eco10 nomic, education, health, protection, nutrition, and 

11 legal sectors; 

12 (9) to ensure protection against sexual exploi13 tation and abuse by and against humanitarian ac14 tors; and 

15 (10) to include the active leadership and par16 ticipation of women and girls in humanitarian pro17 gram design, implementation, and evaluation. 

18 SEC. 4. SAFE FROM THE START AUTHORITY. 

19 (a) SAFE FROM THE START PROGRAMMING.—The 

20 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant Sec21 retary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migra22 tion and in coordination with the Administrator of the 

23 United States Agency for International Development (in 

24 consultation with the Director of the Office of Foreign 

25 Disaster Assistance), shall direct and oversee all United 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4092 IH

1 States foreign assistance that addresses humanitarian cri2 ses in a manner that implements a ‘‘Safe from the Start’’ 

3 programming focus on the following objectives: 

4 (1) Preventing and reducing the incidence of 

5 gender-based violence. 

6 (2) Ensuring quality protection for survivors of 

7 such crises beginning with the onset of the emer8 gency through timely and effective action. 

9 (3) Promoting standards and activities to pre10 vent, mitigate, and respond to gender-based violence. 

11 (4) Advance the empowerment of survivors and 

12 individuals at risk of gender-based violence. 

13 (b) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—The Secretary 

14 shall develop guidelines, toolkits, reporting mechanisms, 

15 and other institutional response and accountability meas16 ures through the Safe from the Start programming de17 scribed in subsection (a) in order to incorporate effective 

18 gender-based violence prevention and response activities 

19 across all humanitarian assistance programs and projects, 

20 including through— 

21 (1) the promotion of minimum standards, indi22 cators, and metrics to assess the adequacy of inter23 ventions relating to gender-based violence, taking 

24 into consideration the Guidelines for Integrating 

25 Gender-Based Violence Interventions in HumaniVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4092 IH

1 tarian Action published by the United Nations Inter2 Agency Standing Council in 2015, the assessment 

3 released by the Real-Time Accountability Partner4 ship on Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies in 

5 2016, and the Minimum Standards for Child Protec6 tion in Humanitarian Action published by the non7 profit organization Sphere in 2012; 

8 (2) the establishment and implementation, in 

9 coordination with international organizations and 

10 nongovernmental organizations, of standards, proto11 cols, and accountability mechanisms for preventing 

12 and addressing sexual or other gender-based exploi13 tation or abuse perpetrated by personnel delivering 

14 humanitarian assistance; and 

15 (3) the development of monitoring tools across 

16 all humanitarian assistance programming to stand17 ardize monitoring and accountability relating to gen18 der-based violence prevention and response. 

19 (c) IMPROVEMENT OF PROTECTION MECHANISMS.— 

20 The Secretary shall improve the delivery and quality of 

21 United States assistance to protect survivors of gender22 based violence, through the Safe from the Start program23 ming described in subsection (a), by improving activities 

24 in the following areas: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4092 IH

1 (1) Access to and quality of comprehensive 

2 medical services for survivors and at-risk populations 

3 in line with international standards, including— 

4 (A) post-rape and post-sexual assault med5 ical care; 

6 (B) psycho-social and mental health serv7 ices; and 

8 (C) hygiene and dignity kits. 

9 (2) Service delivery to hard-to-reach popu10 lations, prioritizing services that reach— 

11 (A) shelters for survivors of natural disas12 ters; 

13 (B) internally displaced person camps; 

14 (C) active conflict zones; and 

15 (D) refugees living in urban areas. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL AC17 TORS.—The Secretary of State is authorized to provide 

18 assistance to organizations based outside the United 

19 States who are working to provide humanitarian relief in 

20 affected regions or countries, prioritizing such organiza21 tions that are led by refugees or displaced or stateless 

22 women and youth, through Safe from the Start program23 ming in accordance with subsection (a) for the following 

24 purposes: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4092 IH

1 (1) Building capacity to identify, prevent, and 

2 address gender-based violence in humanitarian set3 tings and to support survivors and those at risk, in4 cluding through training and deploying female hu5 manitarian aid workers. 

6 (2) Promoting women’s leadership and partici7 pation in the design, implementation, and evaluation 

8 of humanitarian responses. 

9 (3) Developing safe spaces for meaningful dia10 logue, psycho-social interventions, and culturally-spe11 cific support. 

12 (4) Developing technical skills for advocacy, 

13 monitoring, data collection, evaluation, and commu14 nications. 

15 (5) Performing on-the-ground gender analyses 

16 and otherwise rapidly assessing and communicating 

17 the needs of women, girls, and other populations 

18 that are vulnerable to gender-based violence in cri19 ses. 

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO INTER21 NATIONAL NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The 

22 Secretary of State is authorized to provide support to en23 hance the capacity of international nongovernmental orga24 nizations to achieve the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4092 IH

1 (1) Improving technical expertise and avail2 ability of dedicated gender advisors to prevent and 

3 respond to gender-based violence in humanitarian 

4 settings through the Gender Based Violence Area of 

5 Responsibility forum and across sectors of humani6 tarian action, including through training and sen7 sitization of humanitarian aid workers on identifica8 tion of and care for survivors of gender-based vio9 lence. 

10 (2) Promoting supportive partnerships with 

11 local humanitarian actors and nongovernmental or12 ganizations, including for women’s leadership and 

13 participation in humanitarian response. 

14 (3) Increasing and improving empowerment ac15 tivities, including women’s and girls’ access to eco16 nomic opportunities and livelihoods, education and 

17 skills, and leadership roles. 

18 (4) Training for international development im19 plementers during the onset and transformation of a 

20 humanitarian crisis so that such implementers are 

21 equipped to continue relief, recovery, and reconstruc22 tion work that is sensitive to the prevention and 

23 mitigation of gender-based violence after the imme24 diate humanitarian engagement has finished. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4092 IH

1 SEC. 5. SAFEGUARDING AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION 

2 OR ABUSE BY HUMANITARIAN PERSONNEL. 

3 In accordance with the Safe from the Start program4 ming focus described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 

5 State and the Administrator of the United States Agency 

6 for International Development shall prioritize support for 

7 activities ensuring that employees and contractors of the 

8 Agency delivering United States humanitarian assistance 

9 are equipped to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse in 

10 settings of humanitarian aid delivery, including by 

11 strengthening guidelines, training, reporting mechanisms 

12 and remedies, and other appropriate responses. Such ac13 tivities shall include efforts to— 

14 (1) recognize the indicators of sexual exploi15 tation or abuse among refugee, displaced, or state16 less populations by humanitarian aid workers; and 

17 (2) identify and address risks within the hu18 manitarian aid context that create vulnerabilities for 

19 sexual and other exploitation, perpetrated by or 

20 against humanitarian aid workers. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

23 may be necessary for each fiscal year to carry out this 

24 Act but not less than the amount expended in fiscal year 

25 2018 to carry out the Safe from the Start program of the 

26 Department of State. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4092 IH

1 SEC. 7. REPORTS REQUIRED. 

2 (a) PROGRESS REPORT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

5 thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination 

6 with the Administrator of the United States Agency 

7 for International Development, shall submit to the 

8 appropriate congressional committees a report on 

9 the progress made by the United States and by part10 ners in the implementation or delivery of humani11 tarian assistance, including international organiza12 tions, to prevent, mitigate, and address the incidence 

13 of gender-based violence in humanitarian emer14 gencies. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para16 graph (1) shall include each of the following: 

17 (A) An aggregation and examination of 

18 data and research regarding the key drivers of 

19 gender-based violence in humanitarian emer20 gencies, the critical needs of and services re21 quired by survivors or those at risk, and suc22 cessful program models to address, prevent, and 

23 mitigate such violence. 

24 (B) A detailed description of the programs, 

25 diplomatic efforts, and other activities under26 taken by the United States to implement the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 4092 IH

1 Safe from the Start programming focus de2 scribed in section 4(a) of this Act, including 

3 specific descriptions of— 

4 (i) the steps taken to integrate pre5 vention, mitigation, and response to gen6 der-based violence into humanitarian as7 sistance, development of humanitarian 

8 standards, and responses to specific hu9 manitarian crises; 

10 (ii) the progress made, as of the date 

11 of the submission of the report, toward 

12 achieving specific objectives, metrics, and 

13 indicators for implementation of Safe from 

14 the Start programming, disaggregated, 

15 where appropriate, by gender, age, and 

16 type of violence; 

17 (iii) a list of the projects funded or 

18 supported through the Safe from the Start 

19 programming focus, with specific details on 

20 levels of funding or assistance and impacts 

21 of such projects disaggregated, where ap22 propriate, by gender, age, and type of vio23 lence; 

24 (iv) an assessment of the extent to 

25 which consultations with nongovernmental 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 4092 IH

1 organizations, including local actors, and 

2 intergovernmental actors have led to the 

3 development of programs, standards, and 

4 interventions to combat gender-based vio5 lence 

6 (v) a list of the policies or programs 

7 implemented by international or multilat8 eral organizations receiving funding from 

9 the United States Government to improve 

10 capacity and internal protocols to identify 

11 signs of gender-based violence, including 

12 sexual exploitation and abuse, and inte13 grate initiatives to prevent and respond to 

14 gender-based violence into all programs of 

15 the organization; and 

16 (vi) a description of any diplomatic 

17 action taken bilaterally, multilaterally, or 

18 with international organizations to encour19 age the governments of other countries and 

20 international organizations to adopt poli21 cies to prevent and respond to gender22 based violence in emergency situations, in23 cluding any diplomatic efforts to strength24 en the Global Call to Action on Protection 

25 from Gender-Based Violence in EmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 4092 IH

1 gencies by increasing the number of gov2 ernments participating in and contributing 

3 to its gender-based violence prevention and 

4 response activities. 

5 (3) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In developing 

6 the report required by paragraph (1), the Secretary 

7 of State shall consult with the Assistant Secretary 

8 for Population, Refugees, and Migration of the De9 partment of State and the Associate Administrator 

10 for Humanitarian Assistance of the Agency for 

11 International Development. 

12 (4) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 

13 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

14 include a classified annex. The unclassified portion 

15 of such report shall concurrently be published on a 

16 publicly available website of the Department of 

17 State. 

18 (b) BUDGET REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 

19 the submission of each budget submitted to Congress by 

20 the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United 

21 States Code, after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

22 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

23 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

24 a budget crosscut report that— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 4092 IH

1 (1) displays the budget proposed, including any 

2 planned interagency or intra-agency transfer, for 

3 each of the principal Federal agencies that will be 

4 carrying out activities through the Safe from the 

5 Start programming focus described in section 4(a) of 

6 this Act in the fiscal year for which such budget is 

7 submitted; 

8 (2) separately reports the amount of funding to 

9 be provided pertaining to the Safe from the Start 

10 strategy under subsection (a), to the extent such 

11 plans are available; and 

12 (3) to the extent practicable, identifies all as13 sistance and research expenditures at the account 

14 level in each of the five previous fiscal years by the 

15 Federal Government using Federal funds for Safe 

16 from the Start activities. 

17 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE18 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres19 sional committees’’ means— 

20 (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

21 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep22 resentatives; and 

23 (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

24 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS