Countering Violence in the Western Hemisphere Act

Bill: 118-s-5584
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2024-12-18
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-12-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5584 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 18 (legislative day, December 16), 2024 Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Tillis ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To support foreign assistance programs and diplomatic initiatives to counter violence in the Western Hemisphere.

1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Countering Violence in the Western Hemisphere Act . (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Including gender-based violence in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Sec. 4. Engagement with women-led local organizations. Sec. 5. Economic empowerment programming. Sec. 6. Training local law enforcement. Sec. 7. Contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. Sec. 8. Educational exchange programming. Sec. 9. Report on violence as a driver of migration and an indicator of foreign influence. 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ; (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives . (2) USAID The term USAID means the United States Agency for International Development. (3) Violence against women and children The term violence against women and children means any harmful threat or act directed at an individual or group based on actual or perceived biological sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or a lack of adherence to varying socially-constructed norms around masculinity and femininity. 3. Including gender-based violence in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (11)— (A) in subparagraph (B), by adding and at the end; and (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking and at the end; (2) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; (3) in paragraph (13)— (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking Wherever and inserting wherever ; and (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (14) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of gender-based violence. . 4. Engagement with women-led local organizations (a) In general USAID shall— (1) within its model of locally led development, engage partner governments in the Western Hemisphere to develop and implement programming to increase direct local funding to women-led or women-focused nonprofit organizations and local partners working— (A) to counter violence against women and children within their respective communities; (B) to empower victims of violence against women and children; and (C) to support the economic empowerment, financial independence, and security of women; and (2) simplify and increase access to resources for local partners working to advance efforts to prevent and address violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere. (b) Briefing Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, USAID shall brief appropriate congressional committees regarding its proposed plans to implement subsection (a). (c) Strategy Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of USAID shall submit a strategy to the appropriate congressional committees that incorporates specific, measurable benchmarks to achieve the purposes described in subsection (a). (d) Annual progress update Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 5 years, the Administrator of USAID shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a written description of the progress made by USAID towards achieving the benchmarks included in the strategy submitted pursuant to subsection (c). 5. Economic empowerment programming The Administrator of USAID shall expand and strengthen the implementation of savings groups in the Western Hemisphere by including additional partner countries and integrating violence against women and children prevention and response activities, such as household dialogues. 6. Training local law enforcement (a) Collaboration The Department of State and USAID shall collaborate with local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to conduct training to report, prevent, investigate, and prosecute instances of gender-based violence in the Western Hemisphere. (b) Gender-based violence prevention training program The Secretary of State shall work with the International Law Enforcement Academy San Salvador (ILEA San Salvador) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to develop and implement a training program for foreign law enforcement officers designed to help prevent, investigate, prosecute, and report instances of gender-based violence. (c) Western Hemisphere gender-based violence law enforcement engagement strategy Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with the USAID Administrator, shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy— (1) to support law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in reporting, preventing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of gender-based violence in the Western Hemisphere; and (2) to increase the focuses of the Department of State and USAID on— (A) rights-based, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed training and education on gender-based violence prevention and investigation; (B) proactive engagement with civil society organizations, academia, and international supporting actors for an informed response to gender-based violence; and (C) the standardization of the investigation processes for cases of gender-based violence that take a victim and survivor-centered and rights-based approach. 7. Contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Of the amounts made available under the heading International Organizations and Programs for fiscal year 2025 and for each subsequent fiscal year, $2,000,000 shall be made available annually for the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. 8. Educational exchange programming (a) Research partnerships and educational exchange opportunities The Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator shall strengthen and expand research partnerships and educational exchange opportunities for scholars, researchers, and students through engagement with nongovernmental organizations and private sector institutions that work on violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere. (b) Fulbright scholars The Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs shall encourage the participation in the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program of researchers, scholars, and students who are focused on researching and addressing the root causes of violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere. (c) Global forums The Ambassador-at-Large for the Office of Global Women’s Issues shall encourage the involvement of scholars from the Western Hemisphere focusing on researching violence against women and children in global forums and sessions to share their findings and to strengthen the United States' response to violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere. 9. Report on violence as a driver of migration and an indicator of foreign influence Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with the USAID Administrator, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that— (1) examines the role of violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere as a driver of irregular migration; (2) identifies gaps in the United States' strategy for addressing the root causes of migration in Central America to counter violence against women and children; (3) identifies which foreign governments are involved in countering or promoting violence against women and children; (4) examines ways in which the United States and its allies can continue as the leading partner in the region on countering violence against women and children; and (5) contains a regional analysis of the root causes of violence against women and children and its impact on irregular migration, particular migration originating from Central America and the Andean region.