Recognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon and supporting women's full and meaningful participation in political life.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 220 Recognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon and supporting women’s full and meaningful participation in political life. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2023 Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. OMAR, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, and Ms. BUSH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on For- eign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Recognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon and supporting women’s full and meaningful participation in political life. Whereas women have been on the front lines of social justice movements around the world and throughout our Na- tion’s history; Whereas women are underrepresented in politics across the globe, comprising only one-quarter of all legislators worldwide; Whereas women are underrepresented at every level of gov- ernment in the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR220.IH HR220 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 220 IH Whereas, despite this disproportionate underrepresentation, the presence of women in political institutions, including women officeholders and staff with diverse racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, and class identities, has increased sig- nificantly in the United States in recent years; Whereas violence against women is a systemic problem em- bedded in many aspects of our society, including our most esteemed political institutions; Whereas violence against women in politics is a specific, gen- dered phenomenon stemming from a resistance to wom- en’s increased political participation and intending to un- dermine women as political actors; Whereas violence against women in politics occurs at both in- dividual and institutional levels and takes many forms, in person and online, including misogynistic verbal attacks, sexual harassment, death threats, and economic, psycho- logical, or physical violence meant to discourage women from participating fully in the political arena; Whereas research shows that violence against women in poli- tics is a global phenomenon; Whereas a 2016 United States Agency for International De- velopment (USAID) report revealed the prevalence of vio- lence against women in politics in 40 developing countries and outlined steps to combat it; Whereas a 2016 Inter-Parliamentary Union survey of women parliamentarians from 39 countries found that 81.8 per- cent of respondents were subjected to psychological vio- lence, 44.4 percent of whom received threats of death, rape, beatings, or abduction during their parliamentary terms, including threats to kidnap or kill their children; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR220.IH HR220 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 220 IH Whereas research, including a 2019 report from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, has shown that women candidates and other politically involved women are more likely than men to experience abuse and harassment on social media platforms; Whereas a 2020 report from the Institute for Strategic Dia- logue found that both Democratic and Republican women officeholders received a higher share of abusive comments on social media platforms in comparison to their male peers; Whereas a 2021 study published by the Wilson Center ob- served that gendered and sexualized narratives were po- tent weapons in disinformation campaigns targeting women leaders in the United States and abroad; Whereas a 2018 Amnesty International report revealed the intersectional nature of online, gender-based violence by highlighting the experiences of women of color, women from ethnic and religious minorities, women with disabil- ities, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women, and non- binary individuals; Whereas a 2018 report from an expert group meeting con- vened by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women indicated that women of color and women of marginalized communities are dis- proportionately affected by violence against women in politics worldwide; Whereas findings from a 2017 survey of United States may- ors conducted by 6 political scientists revealed that women are more likely than their male counterparts to experience physical and psychological abuse; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR220.IH HR220 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 220 IH Whereas there have been documented instances of violence against women in the United States Congress, including shootings, assault, sexual harassment, nonconsensual dis- tribution of intimate visual depictions, death threats, and sexist verbal attacks; Whereas violence against women in politics has been found to limit women’s civic engagement as well as discourage and discredit women’s political participation; Whereas a 2017 USAID report called for increased attention to the issue of violence against women in politics as well as further research on its manifestation within various political contexts, including protests, polling places, cam- paigns, political parties, and government institutions; and Whereas a 2019 report by the Center for American Women and Politics noted the presence of violence against women in politics during the 2018 midterm elections and called for more research to fully understand the prevalence of such violence across all levels of government, how other identities like race and ethnicity shape experiences of gendered abuse and harassment, and how these experi- ences affect the emergence of female political candidates in the United States: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports women’s full and meaningful par- 2 ticipation in political life; 3 (2) recognizes violence against women in poli- 4 tics as a form of gender-based violence that is spe- 5 cific to women’s experiences in the political arena; 6 (3) recognizes that violence against women in 7 politics is a global phenomenon and that more re- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR220.IH HR220 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 220 IH search should be conducted to examine the extent 1 and effects of such violence in the United States; 2 and 3 (4) urges the United States Government to 4 adopt policies that promote women’s political partici- 5 pation and mitigate violence against women in poli- 6 tics, in person and online, in the United States and 7 abroad. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR220.IH HR220 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB