Safe from the Start Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.571 | Sponsor: Rep. Meng, Grace (D-NY)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Safe from the Start Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of State to direct U.S. foreign assistance to address humanitarian crises in a manner that aims to prevent and respond to gender-based violence at the onset of an emergency.
The State Department shall focus on (1) preventing gender-based violence, (2) protecting survivors of humanitarian crises from the onset of the emergency, (3) promoting standards and activities to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and (4) advancing and empowering survivors and at-risk individuals. Activities shall include improving access to post-sexual-assault medical and mental health services and ensuring such services are available to hard-to-reach populations. The State Department may provide support to local and international organizations to achieve its goals.

To improve United States consideration of, and strategic support for, 
programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence beginning with 
    the onset of humanitarian emergencies, to build the capacity of 
    humanitarian assistance to address the immediate and long-term 
    challenges resulting from such violence, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safe from the Start Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women and girls in 
        humanitarian emergencies, conflict settings, and natural 
        disasters face extreme violence and threats, including--
                    (A) rape and sexual assault;
                    (B) domestic or intimate partner violence;
                    (C) child, early, and forced marriage;
                    (D) trafficking for the purposes of sexual;
                    (E) exploitation and forced labor;
                    (F) harmful traditional practices such as female 
                genital mutilation or cutting; and
                    (G) harassment, exploitation, and abuse by 
                humanitarian personnel.
            (2) Gender-based violence is known to increase during 
        humanitarian emergencies. Violent acts such as intimate partner 
        violence and child marriage that take place during times of 
        stability are often exacerbated during times of crisis.
            (3) For example, according to the United Nations 
        Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic 
        of the Congo, there was an increase of 56 percent in reported 
        cases of conflict-related sexual violence between 2016 and 
        2017.
            (4) Nearly 1 in 5 women report experiencing sexual violence 
        during a humanitarian emergency.
            (5) Intimate partner violence is pervasive and becomes 
        increasingly common during times of conflict and crisis. 
        Residence in a conflict-affected district is associated with a 
        50-percent increase in risk of intimate partner violence, and 
        women who have experienced 4-5 cumulative years of conflict are 
        almost 90 percent more likely to experience such violence than 
        women who are not living in conflict settings.
            (6) Child, early, and forced marriages increase during 
        humanitarian crises and can be used as a tool of last resort to 
        cope with economic hardship and to protect girls from increased 
        violence. Conflict can exacerbate cultural norms of child, 
        early, and forced marriage or create harmful cultural behaviors 
        where they had not previously existed.
            (7) Women and girls are especially vulnerable to 
        trafficking during humanitarian crises, particularly by non-
        state armed groups who abduct and traffic women and girls for 
        sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and child, early, and 
        forced marriage, among other forms of exploitation.
            (8) The power imbalance between aid workers and displaced 
        people, combined with the economic hardship caused by crises, 
        creates markets for sexual exploitation and abuse that are too 
        frequently abused by aid workers and peacekeepers seeking 
        sexual services from displaced or vulnerable people.
            (9) In 2018, the United Nations received a total of 148 
        sexual exploitation and abuse allegations directly involving 
        United Nations aid workers, and 111 involving staff from 
        partner organizations implementing United Nations programs.
            (10) According to United Nations High Commissioner for 
        Refugees, while women and girls are most vulnerable to gender-
        based violence, marginalized populations are also at particular 
        risk of gender-based violence in humanitarian crises, including 
        adolescent girls, older women, women and children with 
        disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, and female heads of 
        households.
            (11) Gender-based violence is under-reported, both in times 
        of stability and during crises. While data may not be 
        immediately available in each crisis or conflict, evidence 
        shows that gender-based violence is consistently a major and 
        pressing concern for women and girls facing humanitarian 
        emergency contexts and should be assumed to be a protection 
        concern in all humanitarian planning and risk assessment, even 
        in the absence of data.
            (12) Men and boys play a critical role in preventing 
        gender-based violence, and engaging them in prevention and 
        accountability activities while empowering women and girls in 
        the transformation of gender roles and combating harmful norms 
        that lead to increased rates of gender-based violence at the 
        onset of emergencies, leads to lasting results.
            (13) Survivors of gender-based violence during humanitarian 
        emergencies and their families require immediate, life-saving 
        assistance, including post-rape care or access to other 
        comprehensive medical and psychosocial services, to address the 
        physical, psychological, and social impacts of gender-based 
        violence. They also require long-term support such as 
        opportunities to earn livelihoods, build skills or receive an 
        education, and access to justice and community-level 
        reintegration. Early medical interventions after incidents of 
        rape can help to prevent infections, HIV, and pregnancy.
            (14) Empowering women to assume leadership roles in 
        delivering humanitarian response and meaningfully engaging 
        local organizations, including women's rights, humanitarian, 
        advocacy, and service-provider organizations, through training 
        and directed resources to operate in emergency settings and 
        provide life-saving assistance is critical to supporting 
        survivors or those at risk of gender-based violence.
            (15) The international community has prioritized addressing 
        the issue of gender-based violence in humanitarian contexts by 
        launching a Global Call to Action on Protection from Gender-
        Based Violence in Emergencies in 2013, which the United States 
        implemented through establishing the ``Safe from the Start'' 
        initiative, carried out by the Department of State and the 
        United States Agency for International Development.
            (16) Safe from the Start aimed to prevent and respond to 
        gender-based violence at the onset of an emergency and to 
        provide resources to strengthen the core capacity of 
        humanitarian assistance implementers to address gender-based 
        violence at the earliest phases of an emergency, including 
        through supporting the development of training, guidelines, 
        toolkits, and other resources to guide operations.
            (17) The Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment 
        Act (Public Law 115-428) requires the United States ``to strive 
        to eliminate gender-based violence and mitigate its harmful 
        effects on individuals and communities'' in its development 
        cooperation policy. Recognizing the need to prevent and respond 
        to gender-based violence globally, Congress has appropriated 
        $150,000,000 annually in each of fiscal years 2013 through 2019 
        for this purpose.
            (18) The United States has further committed to prevention 
        and response to gender-based violence globally through the 
        interagency United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to 
        Gender-Based Violence Globally, the Women, Peace and Security 
        Act Strategy and Implementation Plan, the U.S. Global Strategy 
        to Empower Adolescent Girls, the U.S. Strategy to Support Women 
        and Girls at Risk from Extremism and Conflict, and the U.S. 
        Government Strategy on Advancing Protection and Care for 
        Children in Adversity.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to take effective action to prevent, mitigate, and 
        address gender-based violence occurring during humanitarian 
        emergencies around the world to promote respect for basic human 
        rights and gender equality, economic growth, improved public 
        health, and peace and stability;
            (2) to ensure collective commitment to and accountability 
        for immediate humanitarian action on gender-based violence at 
        all levels, especially on the part of senior humanitarian 
        leadership;
            (3) to maintain sustained political will and robust systems 
        and processes in order to establish, monitor, and enforce 
        accountability for humanitarian action;
            (4) to systematically integrate and coordinate efforts to 
        prevent and respond to gender-based violence in United States 
        foreign policy and foreign assistance programs, including 
        conflict prevention, humanitarian relief and recovery, and 
        peace-building efforts;
            (5) to promote accountability and access to justice for 
        acts of gender-based violence;
            (6) to build local capacity in countries responding to 
        humanitarian crises, including the capacity of governments at 
        all levels and of nongovernmental organizations, especially 
        women-focused and women-led organizations, to prevent, 
        mitigate, and respond to gender-based violence;
            (7) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and collaborate with 
        a wide variety of nongovernmental partners and international 
        organizations, including women-focused and women-led 
        organizations, when designing and implementing humanitarian 
        response programs;
            (8) to support activities that prevent and mitigate the 
        impacts of gender-based violence in humanitarian settings and 
        that empower survivors or those at risk of gender-based 
        violence, including through economic opportunities, access to 
        education and skills building, and promotion of women's 
        leadership and participation in humanitarian response;
            (9) to ensure that international organizations and 
        nongovernmental organizations receiving funding from the United 
        States have the capacity and internal protocols to address 
        gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse 
        committed by humanitarian personnel, integrate gender-based 
        violence prevention and response initiatives into policies and 
        programs, and report regularly on efforts to prevent and 
        respond to gender-based violence;
            (10) to employ a multisectoral approach to preventing and 
        responding to gender-based violence globally, including through 
        activities in the economic, education, health, protection, 
        nutrition, and legal sectors;
            (11) to ensure protection against sexual exploitation and 
        abuse by humanitarian actors; and
            (12) to include the active leadership and participation of 
        women and girls in humanitarian program design, implementation, 
        and evaluation.

SEC. 4. SAFE FROM THE START AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with 
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, is authorized to establish an interagency effort, to be 
known as the ``Safe from the Start'' program, to--
            (1) coordinate efforts to prevent, mitigate, and address 
        gender-based violence in humanitarian crises; and
            (2) provide assistance to international and local non-
        governmental organizations to carry out Safe from the Start 
        programming.
    (b) Programming Efforts.--The Secretary shall support efforts to 
prevent, mitigate, and address gender-based violence through Safe from 
the Start, including the following efforts:
            (1) Building capacity to recognize, prevent, and address 
        gender-based violence in humanitarian settings and to support 
        survivors and those at risk.
            (2) Promoting women's leadership and participation in 
        humanitarian response activities, including the design, 
        implementation, and evaluation of humanitarian responses.
            (3) Ensuring quality protection for survivors of such 
        crises beginning with the onset of the emergency, by developing 
        technical capability for advocacy, monitoring, data collection, 
        evaluation, and communications, including timely gender 
        analyses, throughout the United States Government, recipient 
        country's government, local nongovernmental organizations, and 
        international non-governmental organizations.
            (4) Increasing and improving empowerment activities for 
        survivors of gender-based violence, including women's and 
        girls' access to economic opportunities and livelihoods, 
        education and skills, and leadership roles.
            (5) Building and improving international standards and 
        evidence-based best practices with respect to gender-based 
        violence prevention, monitoring, and response, through support 
        to programs, evaluations, research, and the development of 
        innovative new practices.
            (6) Developing safe spaces for the safe disclosure of 
        incidents of gender-based violence, meaningful dialogue, 
        psycho-social interventions, and culturally-specific support.
            (7) Safeguarding against sexual exploitation or abuse by 
        humanitarian personnel by prioritizing activities that ensure 
        that Federal employees and contractors delivering United States 
        humanitarian assistance are equipped to address sexual 
        exploitation and abuse in settings of humanitarian aid 
        delivery, including by strengthening guidelines, training, 
        reporting mechanisms, and remedies that both recognize and 
        address the risks within the humanitarian aid context that can 
        create vulnerabilities for sexual exploitation and abuse.
    (c) Programming Improvement of Protection Mechanisms.--The 
Secretary shall improve the delivery and quality of United States 
assistance to protect survivors of gender-based violence, through the 
Safe from the Start programming described in subsection (b), by 
improving assistance activities, including activities carried out under 
the Safe from the Start program, in the following areas:
            (1) Access to and quality of comprehensive medical services 
        for survivors and at-risk populations in line with the 
        international standards described in subsection (b)(5), 
        including--
                    (A) post-rape and post-sexual assault medical care;
                    (B) psycho-social and mental health services; and
                    (C) hygiene and dignity kits.
            (2) Service delivery to hard-to-reach populations, 
        prioritizing services that reach--
                    (A) survivors of natural disasters;
                    (B) refugee and internally displaced person camps 
                and settlements;
                    (C) active conflict zones; and
                    (D) refugees and IDPs living in urban areas.
    (d) Improving Standards and Guidelines.--The Secretary shall 
support global efforts to develop guidelines, toolkits, reporting 
mechanisms, and other institutional response and accountability 
measures in order to incorporate effective gender-based violence 
prevention and response activities across all humanitarian assistance 
programs and projects, including through--
            (1) the promotion of minimum standards, indicators, and 
        metrics to assess the adequacy of interventions relating to 
        gender-based violence, taking into consideration the 
        ``Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence 
        Interventions in Humanitarian Action'' published by the Inter 
        Agency Standing Committee in 2015, the findings of the 
        evaluation of the Real-Time Accountability Partnership on 
        Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies in 2016, and the ``Minimum 
        Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action'' 
        published by the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian 
        Action in 2019;
            (2) support to international organizations and 
        nongovernmental organizations, with the establishment and 
        implementation of standards, protocols, and accountability 
        mechanisms for preventing and addressing sexual exploitation or 
        abuse perpetrated by personnel delivering humanitarian 
        assistance; and
            (3) assistance for the development of monitoring tools 
        across all humanitarian assistance programming to standardize 
        monitoring and accountability relating to gender-based violence 
        prevention and response.
    (e) Capacity Building Support.--The Secretary shall provide support 
for capacity-building of organizations seeking to prevent, mitigate, 
and address gender-based violence, including by--
            (1) building capacity of on-the-ground organizations to 
        recognize, prevent, and address gender-based violence in 
        humanitarian settings and to support survivors and those at 
        risk, including through training and deploying female 
        humanitarian aid workers;
            (2) performing on-the-ground gender-based and gender-based 
        violence analyses and otherwise rapidly assessing and 
        communicating the needs of women, girls, and other populations 
        that are vulnerable to gender-based violence in crises;
            (3) improving technical expertise and the availability of 
        dedicated gender advisors in international organizations to 
        prevent and respond to gender-based violence in humanitarian 
        settings through the Gender Based Violence Area of 
        Responsibility of the United Nations Populations Fund and 
        across sectors of humanitarian action, including through 
        training and sensitization of humanitarian aid workers on 
        support for survivors of gender-based violence;
            (4) promoting supportive partnerships between local 
        humanitarian actors and nongovernmental organizations, 
        including for women's leadership and participation in 
        humanitarian response; and
            (5) training for nongovernmental providers of international 
        development assistance during the onset and subsequent phases 
        of a humanitarian crisis, so that such providers are equipped 
        to continue relief, recovery, and reconstruction work that is 
        sensitive to the prevention and mitigation of gender-based 
        violence after the immediate humanitarian engagement has 
        finished.

SEC. 5. REPORTS REQUIRED.

    (a) Progress Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development, shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report on the progress made by the 
        United States and by partners, including international 
        organizations, in the implementation or delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance to prevent, mitigate, and address 
        gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies.
            (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        include each of the following:
                    (A) An aggregation and examination of data and 
                research regarding the key drivers of gender-based 
                violence during humanitarian emergencies, the critical 
                needs of and services required by survivors or those at 
                risk of such violence, and successful program models to 
                address, prevent, and mitigate such violence.
                    (B) A detailed description of the programs, 
                diplomatic efforts, and other activities undertaken by 
                the United States to implement the Safe from the Start 
                programming focus described in section 4, including 
                specific descriptions of--
                            (i) the steps taken to integrate 
                        prevention, mitigation, and response to gender-
                        based violence into the delivery of 
                        humanitarian assistance, the development of 
                        humanitarian standards, and responses to 
                        specific humanitarian crises;
                            (ii) the progress made, as of the date of 
                        the submission of the report, toward achieving 
                        specific objectives, metrics, and indicators 
                        for implementation of Safe from the Start 
                        programming, disaggregated where appropriate by 
                        gender, age, and type of violence;
                            (iii) a list of the projects funded or 
                        supported through the Safe from the Start 
                        programming focus, with specific details on 
                        levels of funding or assistance and impacts of 
                        such projects, disaggregated where appropriate 
                        by gender, age, and type of violence;
                            (iv) an assessment of the extent to which 
                        consultations with nongovernmental 
                        organizations, including local actors, and 
                        intergovernmental actors, have led to the 
                        development of programs, standards, and 
                        interventions to combat gender-based violence;
                            (v) a list of the policies or programs 
                        implemented by international or multilateral 
                        organizations receiving funding from the United 
                        States Government to improve capacity and 
                        internal protocols to identify signs of gender-
                        based violence, including sexual exploitation 
                        and abuse, and integrate initiatives to prevent 
                        and respond to gender-based violence into all 
                        programs of the organization; and
                            (vi) a description of any diplomatic action 
                        taken bilaterally, multilaterally, or with 
                        international organizations to encourage 
                        international organizations and the governments 
                        of other countries to adopt policies to prevent 
                        and respond to gender-based violence in 
                        emergency situations, including any diplomatic 
                        efforts to strengthen the Global Call to Action 
                        on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in 
                        Emergencies by increasing the number of 
                        governments participating in and contributing 
                        to its gender-based violence prevention and 
                        response activities.
            (3) Consultation required.--In developing the report 
        required by paragraph (1), the Secretary of State and 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development shall consult with the Assistant Secretary for 
        Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State 
        and the Associate Administrator for Humanitarian Assistance of 
        the Agency for International Development.
            (4) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified 
        annex. The unclassified portion of such report shall 
        concurrently be published on a publicly available website of 
        the Department of State.
    (b) Budget Report.--Not later than 120 days after the submission of 
each budget submitted to Congress by the President under section 
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
budget crosscut report that--
            (1) displays the budget proposed, including any planned 
        interagency or intra-agency transfer, for each of the principal 
        Federal agencies that will be carrying out activities through 
        the Safe from the Start programming focus described in section 
        4(a) in the fiscal year for which such budget is submitted;
            (2) separately reports the amount of funding to be provided 
        pertaining to Safe from the Start activities authorized 
        pursuant to section 4(a), to the extent such plans are 
        available; and
            (3) to the extent practicable, identifies all assistance 
        and research expenditures at the account level in each of the 
        five previous fiscal years by the Federal Government using 
        Federal funds for Safe from the Start activities.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $140,000,000 for each fiscal 
year to carry out this Act.
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