IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 57
Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2003
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mrs. BIGGERT, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. LANTOS, Mrs. 
CAPITO, Mr. KIRK, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. GEORGE MILLER 
of California, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of 
Florida, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. WATSON, 
Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. FILNER, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Ms. LEE, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Ms. NORTON, 
Mr. FROST, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. FRANK
of Massachusetts, Mr. OLVER, Mr. 
BALLANCE, Mr. NADLER, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. 
EVANS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. DAVIS 
of Illinois, Mr. EMANUEL, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 
MCNULTY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. 
FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. MAN-
ZULLO, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, and Mr. RUSH) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Inter-
national Relations, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
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 
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
•HCON 57 IH 
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; 
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 Centers 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;
•HCON 57 IH 
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 whom 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; 
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
•HCON 57 IH 
(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; 
(3) reaffirms its commitment to ending dis-
crimination and violence against women and girls, to 
ensuring the safety and welfare of women and girls, 
and to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic 
rights of women and girls both in the United States 
and in other countries; and 
(4) encourages the President to—
(A) reaffirm his commitment to pursue 
policies to protect the health and rights of 
women and girls; and 
(B) issue a proclamation calling upon the 
people of the United States to observe Inter-
national Women’s Day with appropriate pro-
grams and activities.
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