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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2307 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2307

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 8, 2014

Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kirk, and Mrs. 
   Shaheen) 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``International 
Violence Against Women Act of 2014''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Statement of policy.
 TITLE I--INTERNATIONAL PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

      Subtitle A--Official Designations and Institutional Changes

Sec. 101. Office for Global Women's Issues.
Sec. 102. Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's 
                            Empowerment.
Sec. 103. Briefing.
               Subtitle B--Strategy, Policy, and Programs

Sec. 111. United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based 
                            Violence Globally.
Sec. 112. Implementation of the United States Strategy to Prevent and 
                            Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally.
Sec. 113. Monitoring the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond 
                            to Gender-Based Violence Globally.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) An estimated 1 out of every 3 women throughout the 
        world will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in 
        her lifetime.
            (2) Up to 70 percent of women in some countries report 
        having been victims of domestic violence at some stage in their 
        lives.
            (3) Sexual violence among adolescents and pre-adolescents 
        is alarmingly high. In 2010, the first nationally 
        representative survey of violence against children in Tanzania 
        found that nearly 3 in 10 females and 1 in 7 males experienced 
        sexual violence prior to the age of 18.
            (4) The International Men and Gender Equality Survey 
        dataset shows that adult male respondents in 6 countries who 
        had experienced violence as children were significantly more 
        likely to report perpetrating intimate partner violence 
        themselves than their peers who did not experience violence as 
        children.
            (5) Violence against women and girls impedes progress in 
        meeting many United States global development goals, including 
        efforts to stem maternal mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS. 
        Approximately 1 in 4 women are abused during pregnancy which 
        has been linked to miscarriage, pre-term labor, low birth 
        weight, fetal distress, and death.
            (6) Country studies indicate that the risk of HIV among 
        women who have experienced violence may be up to 3 times higher 
        than among those who have not. Women who have experienced 
        violence are also at higher risk for contracting HIV, and women 
        living with HIV may be up to 3 times more likely to experience 
        violence than other women. Fear of violence also prevents women 
        from accessing HIV/AIDS information and receiving treatment and 
        counseling.
            (7) The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) 
        supports significant work in the field to mainstream gender-
        based violence into existing HIV programs. Addressing gender 
        norms and inequities is essential to reducing HIV risk and 
        increasing access to HIV prevention, care and treatment 
        services for women and men.
            (8) Increasing women's access to economic opportunities and 
        food security is crucial to preventing and responding to 
        domestic and sexual violence. Inclusive finance and micro-
        enterprise reduce levels of intimate partner violence and 
        provide economic independence for survivors.
            (9) Prevalence of sexual violence is higher among persons 
        with disabilities, particularly for adolescents and intimate 
        partners with disabilities, and for men and women with 
        intellectual impairments living in institutions.
            (10) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women and girls in 
        humanitarian emergencies, conflict settings, and natural 
        disasters face extreme violence and threats, including--
                    (A) being forced to exchange sex for food and 
                humanitarian supplies; and
                    (B) being at increased risk of rape, sexual 
                exploitation, and abuse.
            (11) Rape and sexual assault against women and girls are 
        used to torture, intimidate, and terrorize women and their 
        communities.
            (12) Early and forced marriage of the girl child--
                    (A) is a violation of human rights as it denies 
                girls the right to decide when and with whom to marry;
                    (B) is a harmful practice that deprives girls of 
                their dignity, bringing childhood and adolescence to a 
                premature and unnatural end;
                    (C) can end girls' education and can result in 
                bonded labor or enslavement, commercial sexual 
                exploitation, and violence against the victims;
                    (D) significantly increases the risk of maternal 
                death and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, 
                obstetric fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, 
                including HIV/AIDS; and
                    (E) is perpetuated by poverty, a lack of 
                educational or employment opportunities for girls, 
                parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within 
                marriage, the dowry system, and the perceived lack of 
                value of girls.
            (13) World Bank data shows that gender inequality directly 
        corresponds to increased levels of political and economic 
        instability within States.
            (14) Domestic violence is the most prevalent form of 
        violence against women and prevents women from playing more 
        active roles in the social, economic, and political development 
        of their communities. In humanitarian crises, this global 
        scourge becomes acute, preventing women from helping to rebuild 
        their countries.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to take effective action to prevent and respond to 
        violence against women and girls around the world, as a matter 
        of basic human rights as well as to promote gender equality, 
        economic growth, and improved public health;
            (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate efforts to 
        prevent and respond to violence against women and girls 
        internationally into United States foreign policy and foreign 
        assistance programs, including peacebuilding efforts and 
        humanitarian relief and recovery;
            (3) to support and build local capacity in developing 
        countries, including of governments at all levels and 
        nongovernmental organizations, especially women-led 
        organizations, to prevent and respond to violence against women 
        and girls;
            (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and collaborate with 
        a wide variety of nongovernmental partners with demonstrated 
        experience in preventing and responding to violence against 
        women and girls, including faith-based organizations and women-
        led organizations;
            (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to preventing and 
        responding to violence against women and girls internationally, 
        including activities in the economic, education, health, 
        nutrition, legal, and judicial sectors;
            (6) to work at all levels, from the individual to the 
        family, community, local, national and international levels, to 
        prevent and respond to violence against women and girls around 
        the globe;
            (7) to enhance training by United States personnel of 
        professional foreign military and police forces and judicial 
        officials to include specific and thorough instruction on 
        preventing and responding to violence against women and girls 
        around the world;
            (8) to engage men and boys as partners, as an essential 
        element of making sustained reductions in violence against 
        women and girls;
            (9) to include the prevention of early and forced marriage 
        as an important part of United States Government efforts to 
        prevent violence against girls and promote gender equality and 
        global health;
            (10) to require that all United States contractors and 
        grantees establish appropriate policies and take effective 
        measures to prevent violence against women and girls and sexual 
        exploitation and abuse within their workforce;
            (11) to exert sustained international leadership to prevent 
        and respond to violence against women and girls, including in 
        bilateral and multilateral fora;
            (12) to implement the United States Strategy to Prevent and 
        Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally; and
            (13) to implement the United States National Action Plan on 
        Women, Peace, and Security.

 TITLE I--INTERNATIONAL PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

      Subtitle A--Official Designations and Institutional Changes

SEC. 101. OFFICE OF GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish in the 
Office of the Secretary of the Department of State an Office of Global 
Women's Issues (in this section referred to as the ``Office''). The 
Office shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's 
Issues, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate. The Ambassador-at-Large shall report 
directly to the Secretary and shall have the rank and status of 
Ambassador-at-Large.
    (b) Purpose.--In addition to the duties described in subsection (c) 
and those duties determined by the Secretary of State, the Ambassador-
at-Large shall coordinate efforts of the United States Government as 
directed by the Secretary regarding gender integration and advancing 
the status of women and girls in United States foreign policy.
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Ambassador-at-Large--
                    (A) shall direct activities, policies, programs, 
                and funding relating to gender equality and the 
                advancement of women and girls internationally, 
                including those intended to prevent and respond to 
                violence against women and girls, for all bureaus and 
                offices of the Department of State and in the 
                international programs of all other Federal agencies;
                    (B) shall actively promote and advance the full 
                integration of gender analysis into the programs, 
                structures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus 
                and offices of the Department of State and in the 
                international programs of other Federal agencies;
                    (C) shall direct, as appropriate, United States 
                Government resources to respond to needs for gender 
                integration and empowerment of women in United States 
                Government foreign policies and international programs, 
                including to prevent and respond to violence against 
                women and girls internationally;
                    (D) may design, support, and implement activities 
                regarding empowerment of women internationally, 
                including for the prevention of and response to 
                violence against women and girls internationally;
                    (E) shall conduct regular consultation with civil 
                society organizations working to prevent and respond to 
                violence against women and girls internationally;
                    (F) shall ensure that programs, projects, and 
                activities designed to prevent and respond to violence 
                against women and girls internationally are subject to 
                rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and that there is a 
                uniform set of indicators and standards for such 
                monitoring and evaluation that is used across all 
                Federal agencies;
                    (G) shall serve as the principal advisor to the 
                Secretary of State regarding gender equality, women's 
                empowerment, and violence against women and girls as a 
                foreign policy matter; and
                    (H) is authorized to represent the United States in 
                diplomatic and multilateral fora on matters relevant to 
                the status of women and girls, including violence 
                against women and girls internationally.
            (2) Information sharing and transparency.--The Office shall 
        be the central repository of data on all United States 
        programs, projects, and activities that relate to prevention 
        and response to violence against women and girls, and shall 
        produce a full accounting of United States Government spending 
        on such programs, projects, and activities.

SEC. 102. SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S 
              EMPOWERMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the United States 
Agency for International Development a Senior Coordinator for Gender 
Equality and Women's Empowerment, who shall report to the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Development and who shall 
conduct the activities of the Administrator under this Act.
    (b) In General.--The Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and 
Women's Empowerment--
            (1) shall direct activities, policies, programs, and 
        funding of the United States Agency for International 
        Development relating to gender equality and women's 
        empowerment, including those intended to prevent and respond to 
        violence against women and girls;
            (2) shall actively promote and advance the full integration 
        of gender analysis into the programs, structures, processes, 
        and capacities of all bureaus and offices of the Agency as 
        dictated by the USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment 
        Policy;
            (3) shall direct Agency resources for gender equality and 
        women's empowerment, including to prevent and respond to 
        violence against women and girls internationally;
            (4) may design, support, and implement activities led by 
        the Agency regarding gender equality and women's empowerment, 
        including for the prevention and response of violence against 
        women and girls internationally;
            (5) shall conduct regular consultation with civil society 
        organizations working to prevent and respond to violence 
        against women and girls internationally;
            (6) shall serve as the principal advisor to the 
        Administrator regarding gender equality, women's empowerment, 
        and violence against women and girls; and
            (7) shall track and analyze monitoring and evaluation data 
        and findings on international prevention and response programs 
        of the Agency, consistent with Agency-wide monitoring and 
        evaluation activities, and in order to assist in the 
        preparation of the comprehensive strategy developed under 
        section 111.

SEC. 103. BRIEFING.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambassador-at-Large and Senior 
Coordinator shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on 
international violence against women and girls prevention and response 
strategies, programming, and associated outcomes, and shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees an assessment of human and 
financial resources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties of 
this Act.

               Subtitle B--Strategy, Policy, and Programs

SEC. 111. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED 
              VIOLENCE GLOBALLY.

    (a) Global Strategy Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five 
years, the Ambassador-at-Large, in consultation with the Senior 
Coordinator, shall develop or update a United States global strategy to 
prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Such strategy 
shall be transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees and 
made publicly available on the Internet.
    (b) Initial Strategy.--For the purposes of this section, the 
``United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based 
Violence Globally'', issued in August 2012, shall be deemed to fulfill 
the initial requirement of subsection (a).
    (c) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 60 days after submission 
of the strategy under subsection (a), the Ambassador-at-Large, in 
consultation with the Senior Coordinator, shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan detailing 
how the strategy will be implemented in the upcoming five fiscal years, 
including the budget resources requested, and the specific activities 
to be supported, by each Executive agency under the strategy.
    (d) Collaboration and Coordination.--In developing the strategy 
under subsection (a), the Ambassador-at-Large and Senior Coordinator 
shall consult with--
            (1) the heads of relevant Federal agencies;
            (2) the Senior Policy Operating Group on Trafficking in 
        Persons; and
            (3) representatives of civil society and multi-lateral 
        organizations with demonstrated experience in addressing 
        violence against women and girls or promoting gender equality 
        internationally.
    (e) Content.--The implementation plan required under subsection (c) 
shall--
            (1) identify eligible low-income and lower-middle income 
        countries with significant levels of violence against women and 
        girls, including within displaced communities, that have the 
        governmental or nongovernmental organizational capacity to 
        manage and implement gender-based violence prevention and 
        response program activities and should, when possible, be 
        geographically, ethnically, and culturally diverse from one 
        another;
            (2) select 5 to 20 of the eligible countries identified 
        under paragraph (1) in which to develop comprehensive and 
        holistic individual country plans that incorporate at least two 
        of the program activities listed in section 112(b);
            (3) assess and describe the current or potential capacity 
        of the government of each eligible country selected under 
        paragraph (2) and civil society organizations in each such 
        eligible country to address and respond to violence against 
        women and girls;
            (4) identify coordination mechanisms with Federal agencies 
        that--
                    (A) have existing programs relevant to the 
                strategy;
                    (B) will be involved in new program activities; and
                    (C) are engaged in broader United States strategies 
                around development;
            (5) describe the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms 
        established for each eligible country, and their intended use 
        in assessing overall progress in prevention and response;
            (6) project general levels of resources needed to achieve 
        the stated objectives in each eligible country, including an 
        accounting of--
                    (A) activities and funding already expended by the 
                Department of State, the United States Agency for 
                International Development, other Federal agencies, 
                other donor country governments, and other multilateral 
                institutions; and
                    (B) leveraged private sector resources;
            (7) integrate gender analysis into the strategy for each 
        country; and
            (8) include, as appropriate, strategies designed to 
        accommodate the needs of stateless, disabled, internally 
        displaced, refugee, or religious or ethnic minority women and 
        girls.

SEC. 112. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND 
              RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development are authorized 
to provide assistance to prevent and respond to violence against women 
and girls internationally.
    (b) Program Activities Supported.--Assistance provided to each 
country selected under section 111(e)(2) should include at least two of 
the following activities:
            (1) Development and implementation of programs that work to 
        change social norms and attitudes so that violence against 
        women and girls is neither condoned nor tolerated.
            (2) Promotion of accessible quality educational and 
        literacy opportunities for women and girls.
            (3) Promotion of access to economic opportunities, 
        including by increasing distribution, credit, property, and 
        inheritance rights for women and girls.
            (4) Development and enforcement of civil and criminal legal 
        and judicial sanctions, protections, trainings, and capacity.
            (5) Enhancement of the health sector capacity to detect, 
        prevent, and respond to violence against women and girls.
    (c) Building Local Capacity.--Not less than 10 percent of the 
amount of assistance provided to an eligible country under this section 
should be provided to community-based nongovernmental organizations, 
with priority given to nongovernmental organizations led by women.

SEC. 113. MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND 
              TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE GLOBALLY.

    (a) In General.--In each strategy submitted under section 111(a), 
the Ambassador-at-Large and Senior Coordinator shall include an 
analysis of best practices for preventing and addressing violence 
against women and girls internationally, which shall include--
            (1) a description of successful efforts by foreign 
        governments, multilateral institutions, nongovernmental 
        organizations, educational organizations, and faith-based 
        organizations in preventing and responding to violence against 
        women and girls;
            (2) recommendations related to best practices, effective 
        strategies, and improvements to enhance the impact of 
        prevention and response efforts; and
            (3) the impact of activities funded by the strategy in 
        preventing and reducing violence against women and girls 
        internationally.
    (b) Amendments.--The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
            (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))--
                    (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``and'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the 
                period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(13) wherever applicable, the nature and extent of 
        violence against women and girls.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)--
                    (A) by redesignating the second subsection 
                designated as subsection (i) as subsection (j); and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(k) Inclusion of Information Relating to Violence Against Women 
and Girls.--The report required by subsection (b) shall include, 
wherever applicable, the nature and extent of violence against women 
and girls.''.
    (c) Monitoring and Evaluation.--In coordination with relevant 
officials, and consistent with the monitoring and evaluation policies 
of their respective agencies, the Ambassador-at-Large and the Senior 
Coordinator shall develop a plan for monitoring and independent 
evaluation of programs, projects, and activities carried out under this 
Act. The plan shall--
            (1) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation methodologies 
        to focus on learning, accountability, and policymaking, 
        choosing from among a wide variety of qualitative, 
        quantitative, summative, and formative methods common in the 
        field of social scientific inquiry, including impact 
        evaluations; and
            (2) be included in the implementation plan required under 
        section 111(c).
    (d) Research and Data Collection.--The Secretary and the 
Administrator shall--
            (1) produce original research or analysis of effective 
        interventions to prevent or respond to violence against women 
        and girls internationally;
            (2) collect and analyze new or existing data on the scope 
        and extent of all forms of violence against women and girls 
        internationally, including under-documented forms of violence 
        and violence against marginalized groups;
            (3) conduct research on effective interventions to respond 
        to violence against women and girls internationally, including 
        efforts to scale up effective programming; and
            (4) support systemic data collection using internationally 
        comparable indicators, norms, and methodologies for measuring 
        the scope, prevalence, and incidence of violence against women 
        and girls internationally.
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