Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Whereas November 25, 2022, is recognized as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; Whereas one out of every three women worldwide will be physically, sexually, or otherwise abused during her lifetime with rates reaching 70 percent in some countries; Whereas the right of women to be free from violence is integral to article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Whereas violence against women is a public health epidemic and a barrier to solving global challenges such as extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and conflict; Whereas violence against women devastates the lives of millions of women and girls, in peacetime and in conflict, and knows no national or cultural barriers; Whereas physical abuse and rape are used as weapons of war during times of conflict to achieve military objectives such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, spreading political terror, breaking the resistance of a community, intimidation, or to extract information; Whereas in Rwanda, up to half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide; Whereas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, close to 60,000 women were raped during the war in which violence against women was used as a tool of ethnic cleansing; Whereas the trafficking of women has become a global phenomenon where victims are sexually exploited, forced into labor, and subjected to abuse; Whereas, according to the Violence Policy Center in 2018, in the United States there were 1,946 females murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents that were submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its Supplementary Homicide Report, an average of five women every day; Whereas of all the women murdered in the United States, about 63 percent were killed by an intimate partner; Whereas, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, women in the United States experience about 4,800,000 intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year; Whereas less than 20 percent of battered women sought medical treatment following an injury; Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes crimes that were not reported to the police, 406,970 women in the United States were raped or sexually assaulted in 2019, more than 1000 women every day; Whereas other estimates, such as those generated by the FBI, are much lower because they rely on data from law enforcement agencies; Whereas a significant number of crimes are never even reported for reasons that include the victim’s feeling that nothing can or will be done and the personal nature of the incident; Whereas young women, low-income women, and some minorities are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rape; Whereas women ages 20 to 24 are at the greatest risk of nonfatal domestic violence, and women age 24 and under suffer from the highest rates of rape; Whereas income is also a factor: the poorer the household, the higher the rate of domestic violence, with women in the lowest income category experiencing more than six times the rate of nonfatal intimate partner violence as compared to women in the highest income category; Whereas Black women face higher rates of domestic violence than White women, and American Indian women are victimized at a rate more than double that of women of other races; Whereas the Latino Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence of Indiana advocates for Latino and immigrant communities in the United States who suffer from isolation and limited resources in situations of domestic and sexual violence due to the lack of cultural competency and bilingual and bicultural services; Whereas national statistics show that approximately one in four (23.4 percent) Latinas report that they have been abused at some point in their lifetime; Whereas the National Human Rights Commission has reported violations in detention centers, including poor conditions, abuse and corruption, overpopulation, and inadequate services; Whereas migrant women are particularly vulnerable to harassment and abuse in detention; Whereas the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence found that domestic violence-related deaths in 2020 were up by roughly 85 percent in Indiana compared to the same time last year; Whereas, according to the Family Violence Prevention Fund, growing up in a violent home may be a terrifying and traumatic experience that can affect every aspect of a child’s life, growth and development. . . . children who have been exposed to family violence suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as bed-wetting or nightmares, and were at greater risk than their peers of having allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and flu. Whereas in addition, women who experience physical abuse as children are at a greater risk of victimization as adults; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the cost of domestic violence in 2010 was more than $8,300,000,000; Whereas this cost includes medical care, mental health services, and lost productivity; Whereas, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, domestic violence affecting LGBT individuals continues to be grossly underreported . . . there is a lack of awareness and denial about the existence of this type of violence and its impact, both by LGBT people and non-LGBT people alike Whereas myths regarding gender roles perpetuate the silence surrounding these abusive relationships, for example, the belief that there are not abusive lesbian relationships because women do not abuse each other; Whereas shelters are often unequipped to handle the needs of lesbians (as a women-only shelter is not much defense against a female abuser), and transgendered individuals; Whereas statistics regarding domestic violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are unavailable at the national level, but as regional studies demonstrate, domestic violence is as much as a problem within LGBT communities as it is among heterosexual ones; and Whereas the people of the United States should be encouraged to participate in the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) supports the goals and ideals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; (2) recognizes and honors the individuals and organizations in the United States and in other countries who have fought and continue to struggle to eliminate violence against women; and (3) encourages the President to— (A) increase legal and judicial protection to address violence against women and girls; (B) increase health sector capacity to address violence against women and girls; (C) change social norms to end violence against women and girls; (D) increase women’s economic opportunity and education; (E) address violence against women and girls in overseas conflict-related humanitarian situations; and (F) issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with appropriate programs and activities.

Summary: This resolution supports the goals and ideals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The resolution also recognizes and honors the individuals and organizations in the United States and in other countries who have fought and continue to struggle to eliminate violence against women. Finally, the resolution encourages the President, among other goals, to increase legal and judicial protection to address violence against women and girls, change social norms to end violence against women and girls, and increase women's economic opportunity and education.