Central American Women and Children Protection Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2003 To authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to provide assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras through bilateral compacts to increase protection of women and children in their homes and communities and reduce female homicides, domestic violence, and sexual assault. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 10, 2021 Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. COONS, and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to provide assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras through bilat- eral compacts to increase protection of women and chil- dren in their homes and communities and reduce female homicides, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Central American 4 Women and Children Protection Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2003 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The Northern Triangle countries of El Sal- 3 vador, Guatemala, and Honduras have among the 4 highest homicide rates in the world. In 2020, there 5 were— 6 (A) 19.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 7 El Salvador; 8 (B) 15.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 9 Guatemala; and 10 (C) 37.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 11 Honduras. 12 (2) El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are 13 characterized by a high prevalence of drug- and 14 gang-related violence, murder, and crimes involving 15 sexual- and gender-based violence against women 16 and children, including domestic violence, child 17 abuse, and sexual assault. 18 (3) In 2019, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Hon- 19 duras were all listed among the 7 countries in the 20 Latin America and Caribbean region with the high- 21 est rates of femicides (the intentional killing of 22 women or girls because of their gender). In 2019— 23 (A) 113 women in El Salvador were vic- 24 tims of femicide; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2003 IS (B) 160 women in Guatemala were victims 1 of femicide; and 2 (C) 299 women in Honduras were victims 3 of femicide or violent homicide. 4 (4) In 2015, El Salvador and Honduras were 5 among the top 3 countries in the world with the 6 highest child homicides rates, with more than 22 7 and 32 deaths per 100,000 children, respectively, ac- 8 cording to the nongovernmental organization Save 9 the Children. 10 (5) Thousands of women, children, and families 11 from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras fled 12 unsafe homes and communities in 2019. 13 (6) Violent crimes against women and children 14 are generally assumed to be substantially under-re- 15 ported because the majority of victims lack safe ac- 16 cess to protection and justice. 17 (7) Impunity for perpetrators of violence 18 against women is rampant in El Salvador, Guate- 19 mala, and Honduras. There was a 5 percent convic- 20 tion rate for violence against women in El Salvador 21 in 2016 and 2017. The impunity level for violence 22 against women in Guatemala was 97.05 percent in 23 2018. In 2018, there was an impunity rate of 95 24 percent for violence against women in Honduras. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2003 IS (8) According to a study conducted by the 1 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Schol- 2 ars— 3 (A) childhood experiences with domestic vi- 4 olence in Latin America are a major risk factor 5 for future criminal behavior; and 6 (B) 56 percent of incarcerated women and 7 59 percent of incarcerated men surveyed experi- 8 enced intra-familial violence during childhood. 9 SEC. 3. WOMEN AND CHILDREN PROTECTION COMPACTS. 10 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO COMPACTS.— 11 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Adminis- 12 trator of the United States Agency for International De- 13 velopment, is authorized to enter into multi-year, bilateral 14 agreements of not longer than 6 years in duration, devel- 15 oped in conjunction with the governments of El Salvador, 16 Guatemala, and Honduras (referred to in this Act as 17 ‘‘Compact Countries’’). Such agreements shall be known 18 as Women and Children Protection Compacts (referred to 19 in this Act as ‘‘Compacts’’). 20 (b) PURPOSE.—Each Compact shall— 21 (1) set out the shared goals and objectives of 22 the United States and the government of the Com- 23 pact Country; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2003 IS (2) be aimed at strengthening the Compact 1 Country’s efforts— 2 (A) to strengthen criminal justice and civil 3 court systems to protect women and children 4 and serve victims of domestic violence, sexual 5 violence, and child exploitation and neglect, and 6 hold perpetrators accountable; 7 (B) to secure, create, and sustain safe 8 communities, building on best practices to pre- 9 vent and deter violence against women and chil- 10 dren; 11 (C) to ensure that schools are safe and 12 promote the prevention and early detection of 13 domestic abuse against women and children 14 within communities; and 15 (D) to increase access to high-quality, life- 16 saving health care, including post-rape and dig- 17 nity kits, psychosocial support, and dedicated 18 spaces and shelters for gender-based violence 19 survivors, in accordance with international 20 standards. 21 (c) COMPACT ELEMENTS.—Each Compact shall— 22 (1) establish a 3- to 6-year cooperative strategy 23 and assistance plan for achieving the shared goals 24 and objectives articulated in such Compact; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2003 IS (2) be informed by the assessments of— 1 (A) the areas within the Compact Country 2 experiencing the highest incidence of violence 3 against women and children; 4 (B) the ability of women and children to 5 access protection and obtain effective judicial 6 relief; and 7 (C) the judicial capacity to respond to re- 8 ports within the Compact Country of femicide, 9 sexual and domestic violence, and child exploi- 10 tation and neglect, and to hold the perpetrators 11 of such criminal acts accountable; 12 (3) seek to address the driving forces of vio- 13 lence against women and children, which shall in- 14 clude efforts to break the binding constraints to in- 15 clusive economic growth and access to justice; 16 (4) identify clear and measurable goals, objec- 17 tives, and benchmarks under the Compact to detect, 18 deter and respond to violence against women and 19 children; 20 (5) set out clear roles, responsibilities, and ob- 21 jectives under the Compact, which shall include a de- 22 scription of the anticipated policy and financial com- 23 mitments of the central government of the Compact 24 Country; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2003 IS (6) seek to leverage and deconflict contributions 1 and complementary programming by other donors, 2 international organizations, multilateral institutions, 3 regional organizations, nongovernmental organiza- 4 tions, and the private sector, as appropriate; 5 (7) include a description of the metrics and in- 6 dicators to monitor and measure progress toward 7 achieving the goals, objectives, and benchmarks 8 under the Compact, including reductions in the prev- 9 alence of femicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, 10 and child abuse and neglect; 11 (8) provide for the conduct of an impact evalua- 12 tion not later than 1 year after the conclusion of the 13 Compact; and 14 (9) provide for a full accounting of all funds ex- 15 pended under the Compact, which shall include full 16 audit authority for the Office of the Inspector Gen- 17 eral of the Department of State, the Office of the 18 Inspector General of the United States Agency for 19 International Development, and the Government Ac- 20 countability Office, as appropriate. 21 (d) SUNSET.—The authority to enter into Compacts 22 under this Act shall expire on September 30, 2023. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2003 IS SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE. 1 (a) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State, in coordi- 2 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen- 3 cy for International Development, is authorized to provide 4 assistance under this section. 5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 6 authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of the 7 fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to carry out this Act. 8 (c) IMPLEMENTERS.—Assistance authorized under 9 subsection (a) may be provided through grants, coopera- 10 tive agreements, contracts or other innovative financing 11 instruments to civil society, international organizations, or 12 other private entities with relevant expertise. 13 (d) PROHIBITION ON DIRECT BUDGETARY SUP- 14 PORT.—No funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) 15 may be provided as direct budgetary support to the Gov- 16 ernment of El Salvador, the Government of Guatemala, 17 or the Government of Honduras. 18 (e) SUSPENSION OF ASSISTANCE.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 20 coordination with the Administrator of the United 21 States Agency for International Development, may 22 suspend or terminate assistance authorized under 23 this Act if the Secretary determines that the Com- 24 pact Country or implementing entity— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2003 IS (A) is engaged in activities that are con- 1 trary to the national security interests of the 2 United States; 3 (B) has engaged in a pattern of actions in- 4 consistent with the goals, objectives, commit- 5 ments, or obligations under the Compact; or 6 (C) has failed to make sufficient progress 7 toward meeting the goals, objectives, commit- 8 ments, or obligations under the Compact. 9 (2) REINSTATEMENT.—The Secretary of State, 10 in coordination with the Administrator of the United 11 States Agency for International Development, may 12 reinstate assistance suspended or terminated pursu- 13 ant to paragraph (1) only if the Secretary certifies 14 to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen- 15 ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 16 House of Representatives that the Compact Country 17 or implementing entity has taken steps to correct 18 each condition for which assistance was suspended 19 or terminated under paragraph (1). 20 (3) NOTIFICATION AND REPORT.—Not later 21 than 15 days before suspending or terminating as- 22 sistance pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary, in 23 coordination with the Administrator of the United 24 States Agency for International Development, shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2003 IS notify the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 1 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 2 House of Representatives of the suspension or termi- 3 nation, including a justification for such action. 4 SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION. 5 Not later than 15 days before entering into a Com- 6 pact with the Government of Guatemala, the Government 7 of Honduras, or the Government of El Salvador, the Sec- 8 retary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 9 the United States Agency for International Development, 10 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 11 Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 12 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 13 resentatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 14 House of Representatives— 15 (1) a copy of the proposed Compact; 16 (2) a detailed summary of the cooperative strat- 17 egy and assistance plan required under section 3(c); 18 and 19 (3) a copy of any annexes, appendices, or imple- 20 mentation plans related to the Compact. 21 SEC. 6. COMPACT PROGRESS REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS. 22 (a) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 23 entering into a Compact, and annually during the life of 24 the Compact, the Secretary of State, in coordination with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2003 IS the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter- 1 national Development, shall submit a report to the con- 2 gressional committees listed in section 5 that describes the 3 progress made under the Compact. 4 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 5 shall include— 6 (1) analysis and information on the overall 7 rates of gender-based violence against women and 8 children in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, 9 including by using survivor surveys, regardless of 10 whether or not these acts of violence are reported to 11 government authorities; 12 (2) analysis and information on incidences of 13 cases of gender-based violence against women and 14 children reported to the authorities in El Salvador, 15 Guatemala, and Honduras, and the percentage of al- 16 leged perpetrators investigated, apprehended, pros- 17 ecuted, and convicted; 18 (3) analysis and information on the capacity 19 and resource allocation of child welfare systems in 20 El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to protect 21 unaccompanied children; 22 (4) the percentage of reported violence against 23 women and children cases reaching conviction; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2003.IS S2003 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2003 IS (5) a baseline and percentage changes in 1 women and children victims receiving legal and other 2 social services; 3 (6) a baseline and percentage changes in school 4 retention rates; 5 (7) a baseline and changes in capacity of police, 6 pr [Text truncated for display. 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