Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4003 To improve United States consideration of, and strategic support for, pro- grams to prevent and respond to gender-based violence from the onset of humanitarian emergencies and to build the capacity of humanitarian actors to address the immediate and long-term challenges resulting from such violence, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 18, 2020 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. HARRIS, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To improve United States consideration of, and strategic support for, programs to prevent and respond to gender- based violence from the onset of humanitarian emer- gencies and to build the capacity of humanitarian actors to address the immediate and long-term challenges re- sulting from such violence, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping Women and 4 Girls Safe from the Start Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4003 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Displaced and stateless people and refugees, 3 particularly women and girls, in conflict settings, 4 natural disasters, and other humanitarian emer- 5 gencies, often face extreme violence and threats of 6 violence, including— 7 (A) rape and sexual assault; 8 (B) domestic or intimate partner violence; 9 (C) child, early, and forced marriage; 10 (D) trafficking for the purposes of sexual 11 exploitation and forced labor; 12 (E) harmful traditional practices, such as 13 female genital mutilation or cutting; and 14 (F) harassment, exploitation, and abuse by 15 humanitarian personnel. 16 (2) Gender-based violence increases during hu- 17 manitarian emergencies and violent acts, such as in- 18 timate partner violence and child marriage, are often 19 exacerbated during times of crisis. 20 (3) Nearly 1 in 5 women affected by a humani- 21 tarian emergency report experiencing sexual violence 22 during such emergency. 23 (4) Survivors of gender-based violence in hu- 24 manitarian emergencies require— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4003 IS (A) immediate, life-saving assistance, in- 1 cluding access to medical and psychosocial serv- 2 ices, such as post-rape care; 3 (B) access to justice and community-level 4 reintegration; and 5 (C) opportunities to earn livelihoods, build 6 skills, and receive an education. 7 (5) Early medical interventions after incidents 8 of rape can help to prevent infections, HIV, and 9 pregnancy. 10 (6) Empowering women to assume leadership 11 roles in delivering humanitarian assistance and ef- 12 fectively engaging local women’s rights organizations 13 to provide life-saving assistance is critical to sup- 14 porting survivors or those at risk of gender-based vi- 15 olence during humanitarian crises. 16 (7) Between 2016 and 2018, inclusive, funding 17 for gender-based violence in humanitarian crises rep- 18 resented just 0.12 percent of all funding for humani- 19 tarian response activities. 20 (8) During 2013, the international community 21 launched the Global Call to Action on Protection 22 from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies initia- 23 tive to improve prevention and responses to gender- 24 based violence in humanitarian settings. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4003 IS (9) The United States demonstrated its com- 1 mitment to this initiative by implementing Safe from 2 the Start, under the direction of the Department of 3 State and the United States Agency for Inter- 4 national Development (USAID)— 5 (A) to reduce the incidence of gender-based 6 violence; and 7 (B) to ensure quality services for survivors 8 from the very onset of emergencies through 9 timely and effective humanitarian action. 10 (10) The United States has further dem- 11 onstrated its commitment to prevent and respond to 12 gender-based violence globally through the following 13 documents: 14 (A) The United States Strategy to Prevent 15 and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Glob- 16 ally, published by USAID in August 2012. 17 (B) The United States Global Strategy to 18 Empower Adolescent Girls, adopted by the De- 19 partment of State in March 2016. 20 (C) The U.S. Strategy To Support Women 21 and Girls at Risk From Violent Extremism and 22 Conflict, submitted to Congress in October 23 2018. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4003 IS (D) The United States Strategy on 1 Women, Peace, and Security, released by the 2 President in June 2019. 3 (E) Advancing Protection and Care for 4 Children in Adversity: A U.S. Government 5 Strategy for International Assistance (2019– 6 2023), posted online by USAID in July 2019. 7 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY OBJECTIVES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is in the national interest of 9 the United States to take effective action— 10 (1) to prevent, mitigate, and respond to gender- 11 based violence in humanitarian emergencies around 12 the world; 13 (2) to promote respect for basic human rights 14 and gender equality; and 15 (3) to support economic growth, improved pub- 16 lic health, and peace and stability around the world. 17 (b) PROGRAMS, ACTIVITIES, AND INITIATIVES.—The 18 policy objectives set forth in subsection (a) are reinforced 19 through programs, activities, and initiatives that— 20 (1) build the capacity of humanitarian actors 21 responding to crises, including the capacity of gov- 22 ernments, international organizations, international 23 nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organi- 24 zations, and local nongovernmental groups (espe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4003 IS cially women-led organizations), to prevent, mitigate, 1 and respond to gender-based violence; 2 (2) systematically integrate and coordinate ef- 3 forts to prevent gender-based violence, including 4 by— 5 (A) incorporating gender-based violence 6 risk mitigation interventions across all humani- 7 tarian sectors; and 8 (B) promoting support for, and collabora- 9 tion with, gender-based violence response ex- 10 perts; 11 (3) support activities that— 12 (A) prevent and mitigate the impacts of 13 gender-based violence in humanitarian settings; 14 and 15 (B) empower survivors or those at risk of 16 gender-based violence; 17 (4) improve the delivery and quality of services 18 for survivors of gender-based violence, including— 19 (A) access to medical services for survivors 20 and at-risk populations that comply with inter- 21 national standards; and 22 (B) service delivery to hard-to-reach popu- 23 lations; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4003 IS (5) ensure protection against and accountability 1 for sexual exploitation and abuse, by and against hu- 2 manitarian personnel; 3 (6) advance the active leadership and participa- 4 tion of women and girls impacted by humanitarian 5 crises, including in the design, implementation, and 6 evaluation of programs and other activities; 7 (7) ensure, when providing assistance to inter- 8 national and nongovernmental organizations in a hu- 9 manitarian response, that particular emphasis be 10 given to such organizations led by women impacted 11 by the humanitarian crisis; and 12 (8) promote transparency and accountability of 13 United States Government programs and humani- 14 tarian implementers’ efforts related to preventing 15 and responding to gender-based violence in humani- 16 tarian response. 17 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZED SAFE FROM THE START ACTIVITIES. 18 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Ad- 19 ministrator of the United States Agency for International 20 Development, shall carry out Safe from the Start activities 21 that accomplish the policy objectives set forth in section 22 3(a), including— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4003 IS (1) training and capacity building for humani- 1 tarian personnel and other humanitarian first re- 2 sponders— 3 (A) to identify and prevent gender-based 4 violence in humanitarian settings; and 5 (B) to support survivors and those at risk 6 through best practices, including— 7 (i) established international minimum 8 standards for gender-based violence pre- 9 vention and response; and 10 (ii) referrals to qualified gender-based 11 violence responders; 12 (2) the deployment of, and support for, skilled 13 gender advisors and female humanitarian aid work- 14 ers that comply with international standards, includ- 15 ing through existing coordinating mechanisms in 16 emergencies; 17 (3) the development of technical skills of local 18 nongovernmental organizations and other local ac- 19 tors, such as women impacted by the humanitarian 20 crisis, including skills related to advocacy, moni- 21 toring, data collection, evaluation, and communica- 22 tions; 23 (4) performing on-the-ground gender analyses 24 and rapid gender assessments; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4003 IS (5) the deployment of international minimum 1 standards, guidelines, best practices, and other tools 2 to improve the integration of efforts to identify, pre- 3 vent, and address gender-based violence across all 4 humanitarian assistance programs and initiatives, in 5 consultation with international and local nongovern- 6 mental organizations and other gender-based vio- 7 lence experts; 8 (6) promoting existing international minimum 9 standards, indicators, and metrics to ensure appro- 10 priate response and assess the adequacy of interven- 11 tions relating to gender-based violence; 12 (7) efforts to improve the quality and avail- 13 ability of services for survivors and those at risk of 14 gender-based violence, including medical and psycho- 15 social care and hygiene and dignity kits; 16 (8) expanding and improving empowerment ac- 17 tivities, including— 18 (A) women’s and girls’ economic opportu- 19 nities and livelihoods; 20 (B) social network building; 21 (C) education and skills; and 22 (D) leadership roles; and 23 (9) establishing accountability mechanisms and 24 monitoring and reporting tools to prevent and re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4003 IS spond to incidents of sexual or other gender-based 1 exploitation or abuse perpetrated by personnel deliv- 2 ering humanitarian assistance and associated per- 3 sonnel. 4 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 5 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap- 6 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 7 (1) the Committee on Appropriations of the 8 Senate; 9 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 10 Senate; 11 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 12 House of Representatives; and 13 (4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 14 House of Representatives. 15 (b) PROGRESS REPORT.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 17 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 18 thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination 19 with the Administrator of the United States Agency 20 for International Development, shall submit a report 21 to the appropriate congressional committees that de- 22 scribes the progress made by the United States, in 23 conjunction with partners, such as the United Na- 24 tions High Commissioner for Refugees, the World 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4003 IS Food Program, the United Nations Children’s Fund, 1 and the International Organization for Migration, to 2 prevent, mitigate, and address gender-based violence 3 in humanitarian emergencies. 4 (2) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The report required 5 under paragraph (1) shall include— 6 (A)(i) an analysis of data and research re- 7 garding the key drivers of gender-based violence 8 in humanitarian emergencies; 9 (ii) the needs and services required by sur- 10 vivors or those at risk; and 11 (iii) successful program models to address, 12 prevent, and mitigate such violence; and 13 (B) a detailed description of the programs, 14 diplomatic efforts, and other activities under- 15 taken by the United States to implement Safe 16 from the Start, in accordance with section 4, in- 17 cluding— 18 (i) a description of the steps taken— 19 (I) to integrate prevention, miti- 20 gation, and respond to gender-based 21 violence into humanitarian assistance; 22 (II) to develop humanitarian 23 standards; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4003 IS (III) to respond to specific hu- 1 manitarian crises; 2 (ii) a description of the progress made 3 toward achieving specific objectives, 4 metrics, and indicators for implementation 5 of Safe from the Start programming, 6 disaggregated, as appropriate, by gender, 7 age, and type of violence; 8 (iii) a list of the all projects funded or 9 supported through Safe from the Start 10 programming focus, with specific details on 11 levels of funding or assistance and impacts 12 of such projects disaggregated, as appro- 13 priate, by gender, age, and type of vio- 14 lence; 15 (iv) an assessment of the extent to 16 which consultations with nongovernmental 17 organizations, including local actors, faith 18 leaders, and intergovernmental actors have 19 led to the development of programs, stand- 20 ards, and interventions to combat gender- 21 based violence; 22 (v) a list of the policies or programs 23 implemented by international or multilat- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4003.IS S4003 pbinns on DSKJLV [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]