[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5905 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5905
To combat international violence against women and girls.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 7, 2012
Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Berman, Mr. Ackerman, Ms.
Bass of California, Ms. Bordallo, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Carnahan, Ms. Clarke
of New York, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Hinchey, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Lee
of California, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGovern, Mr. George
Miller of California, Ms. Moore, Mr. Moran, Mr. Murphy of Connecticut,
Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Sherman,
Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Speier, Mr. Stark, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms.
Woolsey, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Larsen of Washington,
Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Olver, Ms. DeGette, and Mr. Welch)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To combat international violence against women and girls.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``International
Violence Against Women Act of 2012''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Statement of policy.
Sec. 4. Office for Global Women's Issues.
Sec. 5. Comprehensive international strategy and assistance to reduce
and prevent violence against women and
girls.
Sec. 6. Assistance to prevent and respond to violence against women and
girls internationally.
Sec. 7. Ensuring accountability of the United States response to
violence against women and girls
internationally.
Sec. 8. Enhancing United States training of foreign military and police
forces and judicial officials on violence
against women and girls.
Sec. 9. Addressing violence against women and girls in humanitarian
relief, peacekeeping, conflict, and
postconflict settings.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Approximately 1 out of every 3 women throughout the
world will be beaten, experience physical or sexual violence,
or be otherwise abused in her lifetime. The World Health
Organization (WHO) has reported that up to 70 percent of women
in some countries report having been victims of domestic
violence at some stage in their lives.
(2) The status of women is an indicator for the overall
direction of society, serving as a valuable barometer for
social unrest and instability.
(3) Addressing women's and girls' rights can improve
security as World Bank data shows a strong correlation between
gender inequality and violence within a state.
(4) Violence against women and girls dramatically impedes
progress in meeting all of our global health goals, including
efforts to stem maternal mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Approximately 1 in 4 women are abused during pregnancy, which,
according to WHO, has been linked to miscarriage, preterm
labor, low birth weight, fetal distress, and death. Women who
have experienced violence are also at higher risk for
contracting HIV, and women living with HIV may be up to 3 times
more likely to experience violence than other women. Fear of
violence also prevents women from accessing HIV/AIDS
information and receiving treatment and counseling.
(5) Increasing women's access to economic opportunities is
crucial to preventing and responding to domestic and sexual
violence. Microfinance-based interventions and increased asset
control reduce levels of intimate partner violence and provide
economic independence for survivors.
(6) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women and girls in
humanitarian emergencies, conflict settings, and natural
disasters face extreme violence and threats because of power
inequities, including--
(A) being forced to exchange sex for food and
humanitarian supplies; and
(B) being at increased risk of rape, sexual
exploitation, and abuse.
(7) Rape and sexual assault against women and girls are
used to torture, intimidate, and terrorize women and their
communities.
(8) Research shows that working with men and boys to change
attitudes towards women can have a profound impact on reducing
violence against women.
(9) According to the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), child marriage--
(A) is a harmful practice that deprives girls of
their dignity and human rights;
(B) can result in bonded labor or enslavement,
commercial sexual exploitation, and violence against
the victims;
(C) significantly increases the risk of maternal
death and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity,
obstetric fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV/AIDS; and
(D) is perpetuated by poverty, a lack of
educational or employment opportunities for girls,
parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within
marriage, the dowry system, and the perceived lack of
value of girls.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) systematically integrate and coordinate efforts to
prevent and respond to violence against women and girls
internationally into United States foreign policy and foreign
assistance programs;
(2) promote women's political, economic, educational,
social, cultural, civil, and human rights and opportunities
throughout the world;
(3) support and build capacity of indigenous
nongovernmental organizations that are working to prevent and
respond to violence against women and girls internationally,
particularly women's nongovernmental organizations and groups
involving male advocates;
(4) prevent and respond to violence against women and girls
internationally through multisectoral methods, working at
individual, family, community, local, national, and
international levels and incorporating service, prevention,
training, and advocacy activities and economic, education,
health, legal, and protective intervention services;
(5) enhance training and other prevention and response to
violence against women and girls internationally in
humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict settings;
(6) enhance training by United States personnel of
professional foreign military and police forces and judicial
officials to include specific and thorough instruction on
preventing and responding to violence against women and girls
internationally;
(7) more regularly engage men and boys as community
leaders, partners, and advocates in ending violence against
women and girls;
(8) support efforts to end child marriage as an important
part of preventing violence against girls by promoting
education and skills building for girls, community programs,
and increased economic opportunities for women to achieve
development objectives; and
(9) ensure that private security firms contracted for
service in conflict, humanitarian, and postconflict settings
appropriately report on, and respond to, violence against women
and girls internationally.
SEC. 4. OFFICE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish in the
Office of the Secretary of the Department of State an Office for Global
Women's Issues (in this section referred to as the ``Office''). The
Office shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's
Issues (in this section referred to as the ``Ambassador-at-Large''),
who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate. The Ambassador-at-Large shall report directly to
the Secretary and shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-
Large.
(b) Purpose.--In addition to the duties described in subsection (c)
and those duties determined by the Secretary of State, the Office shall
coordinate efforts of the United States Government regarding gender
integration and empowerment of women in United States foreign policy.
(c) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Ambassador-at-Large--
(A) shall coordinate and advise on activities,
policies, programs, and funding relating to gender
integration and empowerment of women internationally,
including those intended to prevent and respond to
violence against women, for all bureaus and offices of
the Department of State and in the international
programs of other United States Government departments
and agencies;
(B) shall actively promote and advance the full
integration of gender analysis into the programs,
structures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus
and offices of the Department of State and in the
international programs of other United States
Government departments and agencies;
(C) shall direct, as appropriate, United States
Government resources to respond to needs for gender
integration and empowerment of women in United States
Government foreign policies and international programs,
including to prevent and respond to violence against
women and girls internationally; and
(D) may design, support, and implement activities
regarding empowerment of women internationally,
including for the prevention and response of violence
against women and girls internationally.
(2) Coordinating role.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall
coordinate and consult with all relevant United States
Government departments and agencies, particularly the United
States Agency for International Development, the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, and the Office of the Global AIDS
Coordinator, on all policies, programs, and funding of such
departments and agencies relating to gender integration and
empowerment of women, including ending violence against women
and girls internationally.
(3) Diplomatic representation.--Subject to the direction of
the President and the Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-
Large is authorized to represent the United States in matters
relevant to the status of women, including violence against
women and girls internationally.
(d) Reports.--Subject to the guidance of the Ambassador-at-Large,
the heads of all bureaus and offices of the Department of State, as
appropriate, shall evaluate and monitor all empowerment of women
programs administered by such bureaus and offices and annually submit
to the Ambassador-at-Large reports containing an accounting of such
programs and their effectiveness.
(e) Planning and Budgeting.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
shall fully integrate gender into all diplomatic and development
efforts of the Department of State and the United States Agency for
International Development, respectively, through the inclusion of
gender in strategic planning and budget allocations, and the
development of indicators and evaluation mechanisms to measure the
impact of United States policies and programs on women and girls in
foreign countries.
(f) Monitoring and Evaluation.--
(1) In general.--The Office shall seek to coordinate with
United States Government departments and agencies and should
provide advice and guidance, as necessary, to United States
Government departments and agencies engaged in international
programs, to monitor and evaluate empowerment of women programs
and outcomes and impacts of such programs, including programs
such departments and agencies administer for prevention and
response to violence against women and girls internationally.
(2) Report.--The heads of United States Government
departments and agencies with international programs described
in paragraph (1) shall provide to the Office on an annual basis
information on empowerment of women programs and outcomes and
impacts of such programs, including for prevention and response
to violence against women and girls internationally, in order
to contribute to the development and implementation of the
comprehensive strategy required under section 5.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary, under the heading
``Diplomatic and Consular Programs'', to carry out activities under
this section. Funds appropriated pursuant to this subsection are in
addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.
SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY AND ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE
AND PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS.
(a) Development and Implementation of Strategy.--Not later than 1
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State, with the assistance of the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall--
(1) develop a comprehensive, 5-year international strategy
to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls
internationally;
(2) submit the strategy developed under paragraph (1) to
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
and
(3) make the strategy available to the public.
(b) Collaboration and Coordination.--In developing the strategy
under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall consult with--
(1) Federal departments and agencies that have expertise in
preventing and responding to violence against women and girls
or administering international programs; and
(2) representatives of civil society organizations with
demonstrated experience in combating violence against women and
girls or promoting women's health or women's development issues
internationally.
(c) Content.--The strategy developed under subsection (a) shall--
(1) identify eligible countries (not classified as high-
income countries in the most recent edition of the World
Development Report for Reconstruction and Development,
published by the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development) with significant levels of violence against women
and girls that have the government or nongovernmental
organizational capacity to manage and implement gender-based
violence prevention and response program activities and should,
when possible, be geographically, ethnically, and culturally
diverse from one another;
(2) select at least 5 of the eligible countries identified
under paragraph (1) in which to develop a comprehensive and
holistic individual country plan that incorporates at least 2
of the program activities listed in subsection (d);
(3) assess and describe the current or potential capacity
of the government of each eligible country selected under
paragraph (2) and civil society organizations in each such
eligible country to address and respond to violence against
women and girls;
(4) identify and coordinate with Federal departments and
agencies that--
(A) have existing programs relevant to the
strategy;
(B) will be involved in new program activities; and
(C) coordinate with broader United States
strategies around development;
(5) describe the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
established for each eligible country, and their use in
assessing overall progress in prevention and response;
(6) project general levels of resources needed to achieve
the stated objectives in each eligible country, including an
accounting of--
(A) activities and funding already expended by the
Department of State, the United States Agency for
International Development, other Federal departments
and agencies, other donor country governments, and
other multilateral institutions; and
(B) leveraged private sector resources;
(7) include capacity-building and technical assistance for
community-based women's nongovernmental organizations and
community-based organizations with demonstrated experience
relating to prevention and response, including combating
violence against women and girls internationally;
(8) identify and coordinate with existing nongovernmental
and multilateral programs, initiatives, and groups with
demonstrated experience in prevention and response
internationally, particularly coordinating with women's
organizations and community-based groups;
(9) integrate gender analysis into the strategy for each
country to ensure that the roles of women, girls, men, and boys
are appropriately addressed; and
(10) include, as appropriate, strategies designed to
accommodate the needs of stateless, internally displaced,
refugee, religious, or ethnic minority women and girls.
(d) Program Activities Supported.--The strategy developed under
subsection (a) for an eligible country shall contain a country plan
that incorporates at least two of the following program activities:
(1) Development and enforcement of civil and criminal legal
and judicial sanctions, protections, training, and capacity.
(2) Development and implementation of programs, including
programs targeting men and boys and media campaigns, that work
to change social norms and attitudes so that violence against
women and girls is neither condoned nor tolerated.
(3) Ensuring accessible quality educational and literacy
opportunities for women and girls.
(4) Promotion of access to economic opportunity projects,
including increasing distribution, credit, property, and
inheritance rights for women and girls.
(5) Enhancing the capacity of the health sector to prevent
and respond to violence against women and girls.
(6) Supporting the elimination of obstacles faced by women
to political participation to encourage democratic principles.
SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND
GIRLS INTERNATIONALLY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development are authorized
to provide assistance pursuant to the comprehensive international
strategy developed under section 5 for eligible countries identified
and selected under such section, including to support program
activities described in subsection (d) of such section. Assistance
under this section shall be provided through Department of State and
United States Agency for International Development implementing
agencies, including local and international civil society
organizations, multilateral institutions, and governments of eligible
countries, in accordance with existing procedures.
(b) Coordination of Existing Assistance Programs.--The Secretary of
State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development shall, to the maximum extent practicable,
coordinate programs, projects, and activities under this section with
other programs, projects, and activities to prevent and respond to
violence against women and girls internationally under the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) and other foreign
assistance laws, as applicable.
(c) Use of Funds.--Any funds made available under this section to
nongovernmental or civil society organizations should be made available
to organizations that--
(1) have demonstrated experience regarding violence against
women and girls internationally or have entered into a
partnership with an organization with such experience; and
(2) have demonstrated capabilities or experience in a
particular program activity described in section 5(d).
(d) Congressional Briefings.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
shall brief Congress upon request, on the transparent mechanisms used
to ensure that funds made available under this section through
nongovernmental organizations are awarded to organizations described in
subsection (c).
(e) Grants to Women's Nongovernmental Organizations and Community-
Based Organizations.--To the extent possible, 10 percent of the amount
of assistance provided to an eligible country under this section should
be provided to community-based organizations, including community-based
women's nongovernmental organizations. The Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development shall brief Congress, upon
request, on efforts made to assist such organizations to be eligible
for such assistance.
(f) Award Process.--Assistance provided under this section shall be
provided through an open, competitive, and transparent process to the
extent possible.
(g) Conditions.--A recipient of assistance under this section--
(1) where possible, shall allocate a reasonable portion of
such grants for data collection and the evaluation of program
effectiveness;
(2) shall be responsible for developing and reporting on
outcomes and impacts relating to preventing and responding to
violence against women and girls internationally;
(3) should gather input from women's nongovernmental
organizations or community-based organizations in recipient
countries, including organizations with experience in working
with men and boys to prevent violence; and
(4) shall consider the safety of women and girls as a
primary concern in deciding how to design, implement, monitor,
and evaluate programs.
SEC. 7. ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES RESPONSE TO
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS INTERNATIONALLY.
(a) Amendments.--The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
(1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)), by adding at
the end the following:
``(g) The report required by subsection (d) shall include, wherever
applicable, the nature and extent of violence against women and girls.
``(h) The report required by subsection (d) shall include, for each
country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the
status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this
subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or
boy, who has not attained the age of 18 but who has attained the
minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or who has not attained the
age of 18 if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl or
boy is a resident.''; and
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end
the following:
``(j) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, wherever
applicable, the nature and extent of violence against women and girls.
``(k) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, for each
country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the
status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this
subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or
boy, who has not attained the age of 18 but who has attained the
minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or who has not attained the
age of 18 if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl or
boy is a resident.''.
(b) Transparency.--Upon request, the Secretary of State shall
provide to Congress the information made available under sections 5(b)
and 6(b), including outcomes and impacts related to prevention and
response to violence against women and girls internationally submitted
by contractors, subcontractors, grantees, and subgrantees, unless such
disclosure would inhibit the security or effectiveness of such
entities.
(c) Research and Data Collection.--The Secretary of State, with
assistance from the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development and in consultation with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services and the Attorney General--
(1) shall seek to coordinate data collection and
evaluations of international violence against women and girls
programs; and
(2) may provide financial assistance for original research
or analysis of effective interventions to prevent or respond to
violence against women and girls internationally.
(d) Use of Funds.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated in this
section may be used to--
(1) collect and analyze new or existing data on the scope
and extent of all forms of violence against women and girls
internationally, including under documented forms of violence
and violence against marginalized groups;
(2) conduct research on effective interventions to respond
to violence against women and girls internationally, including
efforts to scaleup effective programming; and
(3) support systemic data collection using internationally
comparable indicators, norms, and methodologies for measuring
the scope, prevalence, and incidence of violence against women
and girls internationally.
SEC. 8. ENHANCING UNITED STATES TRAINING OF FOREIGN MILITARY AND POLICE
FORCES AND JUDICIAL OFFICIALS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
AND GIRLS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure that United
States programs to train foreign military, police, and judicial
officials include instruction on prevention of and response to violence
against women and girls.
(b) Guidance.--The Secretary of State is authorized to provide
guidance to the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, on how to--
(1) incorporate training on prevention and response to
violence against women and girls into the basic training
curricula of foreign military forces, police forces, and
judicial officials under covered programs;
(2) ensure that assistance under covered programs to units
involved in regional or multilateral peacekeeping operations
includes training on prevention and response to violence
against women and girls; and
(3) engage community-based nongovernmental organizations in
the monitoring of actions taken by foreign military forces,
police forces, and judicial officials to prevent and respond to
violence against women and girls.
(c) Covered Programs.--The programs referred to in subsection (a)
include--
(1) programs carried out by the Secretary of Defense under
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.);
and
(2) programs authorized under section 1206 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109-
163; Stat. 3456).
SEC. 9. ADDRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN HUMANITARIAN
RELIEF, PEACEKEEPING, CONFLICT, AND POSTCONFLICT
SETTINGS.
(a) Activities of the Department of State With USAID.--The
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development shall ensure that--
(1) assistance made available for humanitarian relief,
conflict mitigation, and post-conflict reconstruction--
(A) prevents and responds to violence against women
and girls;
(B) builds the capacity of local partners to
address the special protection needs of women and
children;
(C) supports survivors of violence through
education, essential medical and psychosocial
assistance, trauma counseling, family and community
reinsertion and reunification, and economic opportunity
programs; and
(D) provides legal services for women and girls who
are victims of violence;
(2) assistance made available for disarmament,
demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration--
(A) provides protection and suitable separate
facilities in demobilization and transit centers for
women and girls formerly involved in, or associated
with, fighting forces;
(B) offers equitable opportunities for such women
and girls, including access to schooling, vocational
training, employment, and childcare;
(C) provides essential medical care and
psychosocial support for such women and girls; and
(D) incorporates efforts to prevent future violence
against women and girls by former combatants;
(3) specialists in violence against women and girls are
designated and deployed, as appropriate, as an integral part of
Disaster Assistance Response Teams to ensure the integration of
prevention and response to violence against women and girls
internationally in strategies and programming; and
(4) contractors, grantees, and governments that carry out
programs with United States assistance--
(A) train humanitarian workers in preventing and
responding to violence against women and girls,
including in the use of mechanisms to report violence
against women and girls;
(B) conduct appropriate public outreach to make
known to the host community the mechanisms to report
violence against women and girls; and
(C) promptly and appropriately respond to reports
of violence against women and girls and treat survivors
in accordance with best practices regarding
confidentiality.
(b) Coordination of United States Government Efforts.--The
Secretary of State shall regularly consult with the Secretary of
Defense and the Attorney General to coordinate design and
implementation of programs relevant to the purposes of this section.
(c) Sense of Congress Regarding Accountability of United Nations
Peacekeeping and Police Forces and Their Capacity To Address Violence
Against Women and Girls.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Secretary of State should encourage the Secretary-General of the United
Nations to continue to strengthen the ability of the United Nations
Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field
Support to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls by--
(1) requiring troop and police contributing countries to
properly train their forces deployed in United Nations
peacekeeping operations on the United Nations guidance
regarding violence against women and girls, including sexual
exploitation and abuse;
(2) ensuring effective implementation of the zero tolerance
policy on sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations
peacekeeping and humanitarian operations; and
(3) supporting the expansion of the role and number of
female officers in all United Nations peacekeeping missions,
whether as military or police forces, civilian staff or
military observers.
(d) Emergency Response to Credible Reports of Critical or
Widespread Violence Against Women and Girls.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through the
heads of relevant bureaus and offices of the Department of
State, shall--
(A) identify critical or widespread incidents of
violence against women and girls in situations of armed
conflict when such incidents occur, through
consultation with other Federal departments and
agencies, the United Nations, international
organizations, and nongovernmental organizations;
(B) determine emergency response measures not later
than 45 days after such identification; and
(C) brief Congress, upon request, on the
implementation of such emergency response measures and
outcomes not later than 90 days after such
determination.
(2) Content.--The emergency measures developed under
paragraph (1) shall include a description of bilateral
diplomatic efforts with--
(A) the government of the country in which the
violence is occurring;
(B) governments in the region in which the violence
is occurring; and
(C) other donor governments.
<all>