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. KAP-
TUR, 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. ROYBAL-
ALLARD, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. MCCAR-
THY of New York, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Ms. WATSON of Cali-
fornia) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in 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;
•HCON 344 IH
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, gen-
ital 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 be-
tween 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 sec-
onds 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, ap-
proximately 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 Inter-
national Development, only 17 countries consider marital
rape to be a criminal offense;
•HCON 344 IH
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 de-
nounced as a major cause of the rapid spread of HIV/
AIDS among women;
Whereas, according to the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development, two-thirds of the 876,000,000 illit-
erate individuals worldwide are women;
Whereas, according to the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development, two-thirds of the 125,000,000
school-aged children who are not attending school world-
wide are girls;
Whereas girls are less likely than boys to complete school;
Whereas, according to the United States Development Pro-
gram, 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 re-
main vastly underrepresented in national and local as-
semblies, 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 devel-
oping region do women hold more than 8 percent of the
ministerial positions;
•HCON 344 IH
Whereas, according to the Congressional Research Service
and the Department of State, illegal trafficking in women
and children for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sex-
ual 
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 Wom-
en’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 fight-
ing 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 encour-
aged to participate in International Women’s Day: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
(1) supports the goals of International Women’s
Day;
(2) recognizes and honors the women in the
United States and in other countries who have
fought and continue to struggle for gender equality
and women’s rights;