IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 723 
Encouraging all nations to end sexual violence against girls through in- 
country data-driven reforms as demonstrated by multiple African nations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 20, 2019 
Ms. WILD (for herself, Ms. FRANKEL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 
BROWNLEY of California, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. KEATING, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. 
JACKSON LEE, Mr. TRONE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. 
COSTA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Encouraging all nations to end sexual violence against girls 
through in-country data-driven reforms as demonstrated 
by multiple African nations. 
Whereas the 2006 United Nations World Report on Violence 
Against Children galvanized many nations in their com-
mitment to face the challenge of ending all violence, in-
cluding sexual violence, against children in stating, ‘‘No 
violence is justifiable, and all violence is preventable.’’; 
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Whereas sexual violence against girls is a domestic and inter-
national plague that spares no culture, country, race, reli-
gion, or ethnicity; 
Whereas data from United Nations Children’s Fund indicate 
up to 50 percent of sexual assaults worldwide are com-
mitted against girls under 16 years of age; 
Whereas sexual violence against girls and the lifelong con-
sequences impede their potential contributions to society 
and present a major obstacle for nations in the journey 
to self-reliance with political and economic stability; 
Whereas the African population is predicted to double by the 
year 2050, resulting in the increased potential of an esti-
mated population of 2,500,000,000 with more than 50 
percent of the population 18 years of age or younger; 
Whereas realizing the full potential of all Africans requires 
eliminating gender inequities in education; 
Whereas sexual violence against children and adolescents per-
petuates intergenerational poverty through factors includ-
ing increased school absenteeism, decreased years in 
school, and early childbearing; 
Whereas the economic growth of Africa is around 3 percent 
per year, and 4 of the top 10 countries with the fastest 
growing economies are on the African continent including 
Ethiopia, Ghana, Coˆte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique; 
Whereas Africa could realize a 2 percent to 2.5 percent 
growth in the annual per capita gross domestic product 
through a 1-year increase in the average education at-
tained per child; 
Whereas sexual violence during childhood is associated with 
serious immediate and long-term health impacts including 
but not limited to higher rates of pregnancy, maternal 
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mortality, suicide, depression, substance abuse, heart dis-
ease, obesity, and HIV/AIDS; 
Whereas girls ages 15 through 19 have the highest risk of 
experiencing sexual violence and currently account for 75 
percent of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa to-
taling 1,000 newly infected young women each day; 
Whereas complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the 
leading cause of death among girls 15 to 19 years of age 
in sub-Saharan Africa where 90 percent of adolescent 
pregnancies are associated with child marriage; 
Whereas female genital mutilation/cutting (referred to in this 
resolution as ‘‘FGM/C’’), an invasive procedure with no 
medical necessity, represents a form of gender-based dis-
crimination, is recognized internationally as a violation of 
the human rights of girls and women and can be recog-
nized as sexual violence; 
Whereas over 200,000,000 women and girls living today en-
dured the irreversible procedure FGM/C and according to 
the World Health Organization, over 3,900,000 addi-
tional girls are at risk of suffering FGM/C each year; 
Whereas FGM/C causes irreparable deformation, pain, bleed-
ing, and increased risk of HIV infection, and can result 
in complications such as shock, fistulas, complications of 
childbirth, and death; 
Whereas sexual violence against children, as defined by the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to 
in this resolution as the ‘‘CDC’’), includes all forms of 
sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. This en-
compasses a range of acts, including completed non-
consensual sex acts (such as rape), attempted nonconsen-
sual sex acts, abusive sexual contact (such as unwanted 
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touching), and noncontact sexual abuse (such as threat-
ened sexual violence, exhibitionism, verbal sexual harass-
ment, and use of explicit images); 
Whereas recognizing the need for data and evidence to guide 
actions to end violence against children, the CDC 
partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund (referred 
to in this resolution as ‘‘UNICEF’’) Swaziland (now 
Eswatini) and the Government of Eswatini to develop 
and implement the scientifically sound surveillance tool, 
Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (referred to 
in this resolution as ‘‘VACS’’); 
Whereas VACS are nationally representative household sur-
veys designed to define the magnitude, nature, and con-
sequences of sexual, physical, and emotional violence 
among children and adolescents; 
Whereas the governments of 22 nations including 14 African 
nations (Botswana, Coˆte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Kenya, Leso-
tho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, 
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) dem-
onstrated leadership in addressing the pandemic of sexual 
violence against girls through the implementation of 
VACS with technical support from the CDC and coordi-
nation from multistakeholders including UNICEF, To-
gether for Girls, and others; 
Whereas VACS data from over 30,000 respondents in Africa 
revealed— 
(1) over 25 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys 
experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 years; 
(2) for 1 in 4 girls, their first sexual intercourse ex-
perience was forced or coerced; 
(3) the most common perpetrators of sexual violence 
are people known to the victims; 
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(4) only about half of the victims of childhood sexual 
violence tell anyone; 
(5) fewer than 10 percent of assaulted girls and 7 
percent of assaulted boys sought care services and re-
ceived them; 
(6) 1 of 3 girls who experienced unwanted sex be-
came pregnant before the age of 18 years; 
(7) two-thirds of boys who experience sexual violence 
report mental distress later in life; and 
(8) sexual violence against children and adolescents 
was associated with a 370-percent increase in the inci-
dence of HIV infection, a 350-percent increase in the in-
cidence of unwanted pregnancies, and a 200-percent in-
crease in attempted suicide; 
Whereas country-specific surveillance data from VACS were 
analyzed by scientists at the CDC and presented to the 
government-led, public and private multistakeholder, in- 
country team to catalyze the formation of the individual 
nationwide action plans; 
Whereas the formation of data-driven action plans utilizes 
INSPIRE, a World Health Organization technical pack-
age of proven strategies to reduce violence, including— 
(1) implementation and enforcement of laws; 
(2) norms and values; 
(3) safe environments; 
(4) parent and caregiver support; 
(5) income and economic strengthening; 
(6) response and support services; and 
(7) education and life skills; 
Whereas INSPIRE guided action plans resulting in signifi-
cant progress in strengthening protection for youth in-
cluded— 
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(1) in response to a 38-percent prevalence of child-
hood sexual violence among girls, the Government of 
Eswatini drafted the first law in their country making 
sexual abuse of minors illegal; 
(2) several countries used the data to improve serv-
ices for victims by establishing advocacy centers where 
health, legal, and social services could be accessed; 
(3) countries such as Tanzania and Nigeria, where 
violence in schools was noted to be high, developed poli-
cies, codes, and protective guidelines for teachers and 
schools; and 
(4) reforms in Uganda, including expansion of the 
No Means No! program to 20,000 adolescent girls and 
implementation of the Coaching Boys into Men program, 
contributed to a significant decrease in the incidence of 
rape; 
Whereas the followup household surveillance, VACS, thus far 
completed in Kenya and Zimbabwe, revealed a significant 
decrease in sexual violence among children and adoles-
cents after data-driven reforms were instituted; 
Whereas sexual violence, common in the United States and 
around the globe at times of peace, occurs with increased 
incidence in settings of conflict, migration, internal dis-
placement, and institutionalization where it is known to 
be used to intimidate, subjugate, and instill fear; 
Whereas survivors in these adverse settings commonly experi-
ence collective abandonment and an entrenched impunity 
of their perpetrators; and 
Whereas the strong association between experiencing violence 
in childhood and later perpetrating violence highlights the 
importance of comprehensive interventions for both sur-
vivors and perpetrators: Now, therefore, be it 
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Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States— 
(1) recognizes that sexual violence against girls 
remains a devastating global health, human rights, 
and economic problem that is both unjustifiable and 
preventable and impedes peace and security; 
(2) recognizes the leadership of African nations 
using data-driven, in-country, government-led, multi-
sector reform to end sexual violence against girls; 
(3) encourages the commitment of all nations to 
address the United Nations Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals including goal 16.2, ‘‘End abuse, exploi-
tation, trafficking and all forms of violence against 
and torture of children’’, goal 5, ‘‘Achieve gender 
equality and empower all women and girls’’, and 
goal 5.3, ‘‘Eliminate all harmful practices, such as 
child, early and forced marriage and female genital 
mutilations’’; 
(4) encourages all nations to put into place 
proven methods and tools such as VACS, a proven 
household surveillance tool, and INSPIRE, an evi-
dence-based technical package of strategies, to gen-
erate and implement government-led, data-driven, 
comprehensive, multisector response plans to end 
sexual violence against girls; 
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(5) encourages the establishment of multidisci-
plinary and integrated systems in every country to 
ensure that laws are put into place to protect girls 
and that these laws are enforced by a trained and 
supported criminal justice system; 
(6) encourages increased global and domestic 
efforts to eliminate FGM/C; 
(7) encourages funding for further research on 
the global magnitude, scope, consequences including 
health, social and economic burdens, and prevention 
of sexual violence among all children including more 
vulnerable populations such as children who are dis-
abled, institutionalized, or homeless, children living 
as refugees, or internally displaced persons, and chil-
dren living in areas of conflict; 
(8) encourages the establishment of safe, sur-
vivor-centered spaces, and advocacy centers for co-
ordination of health, psychologic, and other services 
for survivors and their families; 
(9) encourages the adaptation and application 
of the VACS technique in humanitarian contexts to 
acquire relevant data for analysis to drive planning; 
and 
(10) encourages domestic use of the proven sur-
vey and technical tools VACS and INSPIRE to ad-
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dress sexual violence against girls in the United 
States. 
Æ 
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