International Violence Against Women Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5267 To prevent international violence against women, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 26, 2019 Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. LARSEN of Wash- ington, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. MOORE, Ms. MENG, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. TITUS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. RUSH, Ms. NORTON, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. POCAN, Mr. COOPER, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. PINGREE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. SCHNEI- DER, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. FRANKEL, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. SOTO, Mr. KILMER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. WELCH, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. KIND, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. WILD, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. BEYER, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. MUCARSEL-POW- ELL, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BERA, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. COX of California, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. COSTA, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. TONKO, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. TRONE, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. OMAR, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Mr. CISNEROS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5267 IH A BILL To prevent international violence against women, and for other purposes. 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘International Violence Against Women Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Statement of policy. Sec. 4. Definitions. TITLE I—STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PROGRAMS Sec. 101. United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Vi- olence Globally. Sec. 102. Implementation of the United States Strategy to Prevent and Re- spond to Gender-Based Violence Globally. Sec. 103. Monitoring the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally. TITLE II—OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY Sec. 201. Office of Global Women’s Issues. Sec. 202. Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Sec. 203. Briefing and assessment. Sec. 204. Addressing violence against women and girls in humanitarian relief, peacekeeping, conflict, and postconflict settings. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 8 Congress makes the following findings: 9 (1) An estimated one out of every three women 10 throughout the world will be beaten, coerced into 11 sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5267 IH (2) Up to 70 percent of women in some coun- 1 tries report experiencing gender-based violence at 2 some point in their lives. 3 (3) Intimate partner violence is the most preva- 4 lent form of violence against women, preventing 5 them from playing more active roles in the social, 6 economic, and political development of their commu- 7 nities. 8 (4) Sexual violence among adolescents and pre- 9 adolescents is alarmingly high. National surveys in 10 Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Haiti 11 have found that between 28 and 38 percent of girls 12 and between 9 and 18 percent of boys report experi- 13 encing sexual violence before reaching 18 years of 14 age. 15 (5) Adult male respondents in six countries who 16 had experienced violence as children were signifi- 17 cantly more likely to report perpetrating intimate 18 partner violence themselves according to the Inter- 19 national Men and Gender Equality Survey dataset. 20 Analysis by the International Center for Research on 21 Women further shows that men who witnessed vio- 22 lence against their mothers are consistently and sig- 23 nificantly more likely to report perpetrating sexual 24 violence. Further, sexually aggressive behaviors start 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5267 IH young for these men, and overlap significantly with 1 other forms of physical violence. 2 (6) Gender-based violence harms economies and 3 the workers that fuel them. Despite under-reporting, 4 striking statistics document prevalent forms of gen- 5 der-based violence globally that affect the world of 6 work. Worldwide, women are concentrated in low- 7 wage, insecure jobs in workplaces where they lack 8 bargaining power, protections against gender-based 9 violence, safe and confidential reporting systems, re- 10 course to justice, and access to legal, medical, and 11 psychosocial services. 12 (7) Women living in poverty are particularly 13 vulnerable to gender-based violence. Lack of eco- 14 nomic opportunities often compel women to use des- 15 perate and dangerous means to provide for them- 16 selves and their families, risking significant exposure 17 to sexual exploitation and abuse. These women often 18 cannot afford critical social and medical services. 19 (8) Research conducted in India, Colombia, 20 South Africa, and Uganda indicates that when 21 women have greater control of assets, they are less 22 likely to experience intimate partner violence. Addi- 23 tionally, when women participate in the economy, 24 they are able to develop a wider support network, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5267 IH which allows them to more easily escape intimate 1 partner violence. 2 (9) Gender-based violence impacts livelihoods 3 and food security by reducing work capacity and 4 productivity, including the ability to grow food for 5 consumption. Studies have shown that women af- 6 fected by gender-based violence are exposed to ill- 7 nesses and injuries that hamper their ability to work 8 productively and care for their families. Diminished 9 food production consequently increases hunger and 10 women’s vulnerability to further violence. 11 (10) Country studies indicate that the risk of 12 HIV among women who have experienced violence 13 may be up to three times higher than among those 14 who have not experienced violence. The World 15 Health Organization found that women who experi- 16 ence intimate partner violence are at more than 50 17 percent greater risk of HIV infection, and in some 18 instances their risk of HIV infection increases four- 19 fold. Women living with HIV are more likely to ex- 20 perience violence than other women, and fear of vio- 21 lence can prevent women from accessing HIV/AIDS 22 information and receiving treatment and counseling. 23 (11) Addressing gender norms and inequities is 24 essential to reducing HIV risk and increasing access 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5267 IH to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for 1 women and men. 2 (12) Prevalence of sexual and physical violence 3 is higher among persons with disabilities, particu- 4 larly for adolescents and intimate partners with dis- 5 abilities, and for men and women with intellectual 6 impairments living in institutions. The World Health 7 Organization reports that rates of gender-based vio- 8 lence are between 4 and 10 times greater among 9 persons with disabilities compared to non-disabled 10 persons. 11 (13) Displaced, refugee, and stateless women 12 and girls in humanitarian emergencies, conflict set- 13 tings, and natural disasters face extreme violence 14 and threats, including— 15 (A) being forced to exchange sex for food 16 and humanitarian supplies; and 17 (B) being at increased risk of rape, sexual 18 exploitation, and abuse. 19 (14) Rape and sexual assault against women 20 and girls are used to torture, intimidate, and ter- 21 rorize communities. Rape and sexual assault are 22 used as tools of war in conflict zones, including the 23 Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Syria, Af- 24 ghanistan, El Salvador, and South Sudan. UNFPA, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5267 IH the United Nation’s reproductive health and rights 1 agency, leads the Gender Based Violence Area of 2 Responsibility, which is responsible for global coordi- 3 nation and collaboration on GBV prevention and re- 4 sponse in humanitarian settings and is a leading 5 provider of post-rape care and other reproductive 6 health services and commodities in humanitarian 7 settings. 8 (15) Child and forced marriage of girls— 9 (A) is a harmful practice that deprives 10 girls of their dignity and rights and creates bar- 11 riers to development for communities and coun- 12 tries; 13 (B) is projected to affect more than 14 150,000,000 girls who will become brides be- 15 tween 2019 and 2030; 16 (C) can prematurely end girls’ education, 17 increase vulnerability to gender-based violence, 18 and significantly raise the risk of maternal and 19 infant morbidity or mortality, including the risk 20 of obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted dis- 21 eases, including HIV/AIDS; 22 (D) is perpetuated by poverty, a lack of 23 educational or employment opportunities for 24 girls, a lack of legal policies and enforcement of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5267 IH laws, and religious, cultural, and social factors 1 related to girls’ perceived lack of value, factors 2 which become particularly acute in conflict and 3 disaster settings where fears of sexual violence 4 and overstretched coping mechanisms often 5 drive child and forced marriage; and 6 (E) child marriage is estimated to con- 7 tribute, on average, to a loss in earnings of 8 about nine percent for women who married 9 early, which translates into a loss of about one 10 percent in earnings for the entire labor force 11 when factoring in all working adults. 12 (16) Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/ 13 C) is carried out most often on girls between infancy 14 and 15 years of age and has impacted more than 15 200,000,000 girls and women who are alive today. 16 FGM/C can cause long-term health problems, includ- 17 ing infertility, complications in childbirth, increased 18 risk of newborn deaths, and psychological trauma. 19 Mental health is one of the least explored domains 20 of impact of gender-based violence; indeed, self-harm 21 and suicide is the leading cause of death globally for 22 adolescent girls aged 15–19. 23 (17) World Bank data shows that gender in- 24 equality directly corresponds to increased levels of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5267 IH political and economic instability within states. Gen- 1 der-based violence impedes women’s meaningful par- 2 ticipation in social, political, and economic spheres, 3 which is essential to the stability and democratiza- 4 tion of a country. Since women disproportionately 5 experience gender-based violence during conflict and 6 post-conflict reconstruction, they can play a pivotal 7 role in preventing, mitigating, and resolving conflict, 8 and countering extremism. 9 (18) Gender-based violence is a contributing 10 factor to human trafficking. Experts in the field 11 have reported that women and girls who have experi- 12 enced gender-based violence and live in societies that 13 tolerate severe gender discrimination appear to be 14 more vulnerable to being trafficked. Comprehensive 15 efforts to reduce human trafficking must include ef- 16 forts to prevent and respond to gender-based vio- 17 lence due to the intertwined relationship of the two 18 crimes. 19 (19) Health services are among the first places 20 survivors of violence seek assistance. Health-focused 21 nongovernmental organizations and United Nations 22 agencies like UNFPA, the Reproductive Health and 23 Rights Agency, have critical opportunities to reach 24 affected women and girls. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Dec 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5267.IH H5267 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5267 IH (20) Gender-based violence also manifests on- 1 line; gender-based cyberviolence is a growing con- 2 cern, with women and girls disproportionately af- 3 fected and targeted based on their appearance, activ- 4 ism, and sexuality. 5 (21) Taking meaningful action to address gen- 6 der-based violence is an imperative acknowledgment 7 of a woman’s agency and personal right to leading 8 a dignified life. 9 (22) Addressing gender norms and inequities is 10 essential to reducing HIV risk and increasing access 11 to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for 12 women and men. 13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 14 It is the policy of the United States— 15 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re- 16 spond to violence against women and girls around 17 the world as a matter of basic human rights and to 18 promote gender equality, economic growth, and im- 19 proved public health; 20 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 21 efforts to prevent and respond to violence against 22 women and girls internationally into United States 23 foreign policy and foreign assistance programs, in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]