S 2279 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To combat international violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

October 31, 2007

Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. LUGAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign RelationsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To combat international violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `International Violence Against Women Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Findings.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. Statement of policy.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Definitions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE I--COORDINATION AND POLICY PLANNING

Sec. 101. Official positions and institutional changes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 102. Policy and programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 103. Inclusion of information on violence against women and girls in human rights reports.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE II--OTHER PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Amendments to Foreign Service Act of 1980.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 202. Support for multilateral efforts to end violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Violence against women and girls is rooted in multiple causes and takes many forms, including physical, sexual, and psychological. It affects all countries, social groups, ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic classes and is a global health, economic development, and human rights problem of epidemic proportions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) According to the World Health Organization--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) approximately 1 in 3 of the women in the world will experience violence in her lifetime, with rates of up to 70 percent in some countries; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) 1 in 5 of the women in the world will be the victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) According to the 2006 United Nations Secretary-General's report entitled Ending Violence Against Women, 102 member states have no specific laws on domestic violence.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Women and girls face many different types of gender-based violence, including forced or child marriage, so-called `honor killings', dowry-related murder, human trafficking, and female genital mutilation. The United Nations estimates that at least 5,000 so-called `honor killings' take place each year around the world and that more than 130,000,000 girls and young women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 2006 Report on Gender-Based Violence and HIV/AIDS reports that violence against women is a public health and development problem that significantly increases susceptibility to HIV/AIDS. A United Nations study on the global AIDS epidemic found that in sub-Saharan Africa, women who are 15 to 24 years old can be infected at rates that are up to 6 times higher than men of the same age.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Recent studies in Africa indicate that between 16 and 47 percent of girls in primary and secondary school report sexual abuse or harassment by male teachers or classmates. Girls who experience sexual violence at school are also more likely to experience unintended pregnancies or become infected with sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) Rape and sexual assault are weapons of war used to torture, intimidate, and terrorize women and communities. Amnesty International reports that women have suffered from sexual violence during conflicts in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, and most recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where women have suffered from brutal and systematic sexual assaults.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) 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 being forced to exchange sex for food and humanitarian supplies, and being at increased risk of rape, sexual exploitation, and abuse.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) 70 percent of the 1,300,000,000 people living in poverty in the world are women and children;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) 2/3 of the 876,000,000 illiterate adults in the world are women;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) 2/3 of the 125,000,000 school-aged children who are not in school are girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) more than 3/4 of the 27,000,000 refugees in the world are women and children; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) 1,600 women die unnecessarily every day during pregnancy and childbirth.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) In 2003, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women concluded that violence against women violates the basic human rights of women, results in `devastating consequences for women who experience it, traumatic impact on those who witness it, de-legitimization of States that fail to prevent it and the impoverishment of entire societies that tolerate it.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(11) Violence against women is an impediment to the health, opportunity, and development of women and their societies. According to an October 2006 study of the United Nations Secretary General entitled Ending Violence Against Women, `Violence against women impoverishes women, their families, communities and nations. It lowers economic production, drains resources from public services and employers, and reduces human capital formation.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(12) The World Bank recognizes that women's health, education, and economic opportunities directly impact the development and well being of their families and their societies. A 2001 World Bank Report, entitled Engendering Development, reports that greater gender equality leads to improved nutrition, lower child mortality, less government corruption, higher productivity, and reduced HIV infection rates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(13) Increased access to economic opportunities is crucial to the prevention of and response to domestic and sexual violence. Both microfinance-based interventions and increased asset control have been shown to reduce levels of intimate partner violence in addition to providing economic independence for survivors.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(14) Campaigns to change social norms, including community organizing, media campaigns, and efforts to engage and educate men and boys, have been shown to change attitudes that condone and tolerate violence against women and girls and reduce violence and abuse.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

It is the policy of the United States--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) to promote women's political, economic, educational, social, cultural, civil, and human rights and opportunities throughout the world;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) to condemn and combat violence against women and girls, and to promote and assist other governments in preventing and responding to such violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) to promote ending violence against women and girls around the world, whether the abuse is committed directly by a foreign government, is implicitly committed by such government through hostile laws or de jure mandates to disenfranchise women, or is committed by private actors and the government fails to address the abuse;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) to encourage foreign governments to enact and implement effective legal reform to combat violence against women and girls, and to encourage access to justice, true accountability for abusers, and meaningful redress and support for victims;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) to systematically integrate and coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls into United States foreign policy and foreign assistance programs, and to expand implementation of effective practices and programs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) to fully implement the comprehensive international strategy set forth in section 300G of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by this Act, which provides assistance to eligible countries to reduce and prevent gender-based violence with coordinated efforts in the criminal justice, health, education, and economic sectors;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) to support and build capacity of indigenous nongovernmental organizations that are working to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, particularly women's nongovernmental organizations, and to support and encourage United States organizations working in partnership with such nongovernmental organizations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls 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;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) to coordinate activities with recipient country governments, as appropriate, and with other bilateral, multilateral, nongovernmental, and private sector actors active in the relevant sector and country;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) to foster international and regional cooperation with an aim towards defining regional strategies, as appropriate, for preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, and exchanging data and successful strategies;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(11) to work through international organizations of which the United States is a member, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies, funds and programs to encourage, promote, and advocate for stronger efforts and policies to prevent and end violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(12) to enhance training and other programs to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(13) to 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;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(14) to press for the implementation of policies and practices in global peace and security efforts, including United Nations peacekeeping and policing operations, that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls and hold personnel accountable for the full implementation of these policies and practices.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS- The term `violence against women and girls'--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) means any act of gender-based violence against women or girls committed because of their gender that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) includes--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) physical, sexual, and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, nonspousal violence, and violence related to exploitation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) physical, sexual, and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women, and forced prostitution; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the state, wherever it occurs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES- The term `eligible countries' means countries that are 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE I--COORDINATION AND POLICY PLANNING

SEC. 101. OFFICIAL POSITIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES.

Chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2166 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`TITLE XIII--INTERNATIONAL PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

`SEC. 300A. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS DEFINED.

`In this title, the term `violence against women and girls' has the meaning given that term in section 5 of the International Violence Against Women Act of 2007.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`Subtitle A--Official Positions and Institutional Changes

`SEC. 300B. OFFICE OF WOMEN'S GLOBAL INITIATIVES.

`(a) Establishment- There is established in the Office of the Secretary of State in the Department of State, the Office of Women's Global Initiatives. The office shall be headed by the Coordinator of the Office of Women's Global Initiatives (referred to in this title as the `Coordinator'), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Coordinator shall report directly to the Secretary and shall have the rank and status of Ambassador at Large.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Purpose- The Office of Women's Global Initiatives shall be the sole office coordinating all efforts of the United States Government regarding international women's issues and is intended to replace the Office of International Women's Issues in the Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs in the Department of State.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Duties- The Coordinator shall have the following responsibilities:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) IN GENERAL- The Coordinator shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) design, oversee, and coordinate activities and programs of the United States Government relating to international women's issues; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) direct United States Government resources to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) prevent and respond to violence against women and girls throughout the world; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) develop the comprehensive international strategy described in section 300G to reduce violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) PRINCIPAL ADVISOR- The Coordinator shall serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of State regarding foreign policy matters relating to women, including violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) COORDINATING ROLE- The Coordinator shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) oversee and coordinate all resources and activities of the United State Government to combat violence against women and girls internationally, including developing strategies for the integration of efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence into United States assistance programs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) coordinate all policies, programs, and funding related to violence against women and girls internationally of the Department of State, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iv) the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(v) the Bureau of Political Military Affairs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(vi) the Bureau of International Organizations Affairs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(vii) the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(viii) the Foreign Service Institute;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ix) the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(x) the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(xi) the Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(xii) all regional bureaus and offices;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) coordinate all policies, programs, and funding related to violence against women and girls internationally in the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) coordinate all policies, programs, and funding relating to violence against women and girls internationally in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including the Women's Global Development Office;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) monitor and evaluate all such gender-based violence programs administered by the entities listed in subparagraphs (B) through (D), as necessary;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(F) coordinate all policies, programs, and funding of the Millennium Challenge Corporation relating to violence against women and girls internationally;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(G) design, integrate, and, as appropriate, implement policies, programs, and activities related to women's health, education, economic development, legal reform, social norm changes, women's human rights, and protection of women in humanitarian crises, including those identified pursuant to section 300G(c); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(H) encourage departments listed in subparagraph (C) to create agency-specific programmatic guidelines on addressing violence against women and girls internationally and monitor implementation of those guidelines.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION- Subject to the direction of the President and the Secretary of State, the Coordinator is authorized to represent the United States in matters relevant to violence against women and girls internationally in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) contacts with foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and other international organizations of which the United States is a member; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, under the heading `Diplomatic and Consular Programs', to carry out activities under this section. Funds appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall be under the direct control of the Coordinator.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300C. WOMEN'S GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.

`(a) Establishment- There is established, within the United States Agency for International Development, the Office of Women's Global Development. The Office of Women's Global Development shall be headed by the Director of Women's Global Development (referred to in this title as the `Director'), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall report directly to the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and shall consult regularly with the Coordinator of the Office of Women's Global Initiatives.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Purpose- The Office of Women's Global Development shall be the sole office coordinating all efforts of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) regarding international women's issues and is intended to replace the Office of Women in Development in USAID in existence on the date of the enactment of this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Duties-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) IN GENERAL- The Director shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) integrate gender into all policies, programs, and activities of the United States Agency for International Development to improve the status of women, increase opportunities for women, and support the overall development goals of United States programs and assistance;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) ensure that efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls are integrated into United States Government foreign assistance programs at the strategic planning and country operational plan levels; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) monitor the manner in which such activities are integrated, programmed, and implemented in each country plan.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out activities and collaboration related to preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Funds appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall be under the direct control of the Director. Such funds are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300D. ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

`(a) Establishment- There is established within the Department of State an Advisory Commission on International Violence Against Women (in this section referred to as the `Advisory Commission').CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Membership-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) APPOINTMENT- The Advisory Commission shall be composed of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, who shall serve as chair, and the Director of the Women's Global Development Office, both of whom shall serve ex officio as nonvoting members of the Advisory Commission;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) 8 members appointed by the Secretary of State who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) 3 members appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate on the joint recommendation of the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) 3 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the joint recommendation of the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) SELECTION- Members of the Advisory Commission shall be selected from among--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) distinguished individuals noted for their knowledge and experience in fields relevant to the issue of international violence against women and girls, including foreign affairs, human rights, and international law;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) representatives of nongovernmental organizations and other institutions having knowledge and expertise related to violence against women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) academics representative of the various scholarly approaches to the issue of international violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) TIME OF APPOINTMENT- The appointments required under paragraph (1) shall be made not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) TERMS- The term of each member appointed to the Advisory Commission shall be 3 years. Members shall be eligible for reappointment to a second term.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Duties- The Advisory Commission shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) annually make recommendations to the Secretary of State regarding best practices to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally and the effective integration of such practices into the foreign policy of the United States, including assistance programming; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) consult with members of the United States Government and with private groups and individuals on the prevention and response to international violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Hearings- In carrying out this section, the Advisory Commission may conduct such hearings, sit and at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence, as the Advisory Commission considers appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(e) Funding- Members of the Advisory Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of duties for the Advisory Commission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(f) Report of the Advisory Commission- Not later than May 1 of each year, the Advisory Commission shall submit a report to the President, the Secretary of State, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that sets forth its findings and recommendations for United States policy and programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(g) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated $300,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 102. POLICY AND PROGRAMS.

Chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2166 et seq.), as amended by section 101, is further amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`Subtitle B--Policy and Programs

`SEC. 300G. COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY 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 title, the President, with the assistance of the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives and Director of Women's Global Development, shall develop and commence implementation of a comprehensive, 5-year international strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally, and shall submit it to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Collaboration- In developing the strategy under subsection (a), the President, with the assistance of the Coordinator, shall consult with--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) the Secretary of State, including the offices and bureaus listed in section 300B(b)(3)(B), other executive agencies listed in section 300B(b)(3)(C), United States aid agencies and offices as listed in section 300B(b)(3)(D), the Millennium Challenge Corporation listed in section 300B(b)(3)(E), and Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) nongovernmental organizations with demonstrated expertise working on violence against women and girls, women's health, or women's empowerment issues internationally.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Content- The strategy developed under subsection (a) shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) identify between 10 and 20 eligible countries that are geographically, ethnically, and culturally diverse, and have severe levels of violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) describe the nature and extent of violence against women and girls in each country;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) identify how and to what extent the violence against women and girls in each country is negatively affecting goals of improving the health, education, economic, democracy and civic participation, criminal justice, and internally displaced persons and refugee management sectors in such country and its region;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) assess the efforts of the government in each country to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls and assess the potential capacity of each country to manage 2 or more of the gender violence-based program activities identified under subsection (d);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5)(A) describe the programs to be undertaken in cooperation with the governments of each country in specific areas for progress in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) identify resources to help implement programs; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) encourage development of national action plans;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(6) for each country, identify 2 or more of the program activities listed in subsection (d) and describe how the selected programs will prevent and respond to the problem of violence against women and girls, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) increasing legal and judicial protections;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) enhancing the capacity of the health sector to respond to such violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) increasing opportunities for women and girls in education and economic development; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) promoting societal awareness and changing social norms;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(7) include, as appropriate, strategies designed to accommodate the needs of stateless, internally displaced, refugee, or religious or ethnic minority women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(8) project general levels of resources needed on an annual basis to achieve the stated objective in each country, taking into account activities and funding provided by other donor country governments and other multilateral institutions and leveraging private sector resources;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(9) include potential coordination with existing programs, initiatives, and expertise on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls that exist within nongovernmental organizations, including in-country, civil society organizations, particularly women's organizations and community-based groups;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(10) identify the Federal departments and agencies involved in the execution of the relevant program activities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(11) describe the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms established for each country and how they will be used to assess overall progress in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Program Activities Supported- Assistance provided under this section shall be used to carry out, in each of the countries identified in the strategy required pursuant to subsection (a), 2 or more of the following program activities:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) Increasing legal and judicial protections by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) supporting programs that strengthen a coordinated community response to violence against women and girls, including through coordination between judges, police, prosecutors, and legal advocates to enhance prospects for perpetrator accountability;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) supporting efforts and providing resources to provide training and technical assistance to police, prosecutors, forensic physicians, lawyers, corrections officers, judges, and judicial officials, and where appropriate, to nonlawyer advocates and traditional community authorities on violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) supporting efforts to reform and revise criminal and civil laws to prohibit violence against women and girls and create accountability for perpetrators;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) enhancing the capacity of the justice sector, including keeping official records of all complaints, collecting and safeguarding evidence, systematizing and tracking data on cases of violence against women and girls, and undertaking investigations and evidence gathering expeditiously;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) helping women and girls who are victims of violence gain access to the justice sector and supporting them throughout the legal process, including establishing victim and witness units for courts and promoting support for survivor services, including hotlines and shelters;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(F) promoting civil remedies in cases of domestic violence that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) prioritize victim safety and confidentiality and offender accountability;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) grant women and children restraining, protection, or removal orders with appropriate criminal sanctions for violations against perpetrators of violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) strengthen and promote women's custodial rights over children and protect children; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iv) grant courts authority to provide specific relief pursuant to a restraining or removal order, including restitution, spousal maintenance, child support, payment of debt, or return or equitable distribution of property;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(G) reducing the incidence of violence against women and girls committed by government officials by developing confidential mechanisms for reporting violence against women and girls committed by government officials and institutions and developing laws to punish the perpetrators and remove immunity from state officials;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(H) promoting broader legal protection for women and girls against all forms of violence against women and girls, such as female infanticide and female genital mutilation, and practices that are associated with higher rates of violence against women and girls, such as child and forced marriage; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(I) increasing the number of women advocates trained to respond to violence against women and girls at police stations, including the creation of domestic violence units and increasing the number of women police.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) Carrying out health care initiatives, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) promoting the integration of programs to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls into existing programs addressing child survival, women's health, family planning, mental health, and HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) training of health care providers, including traditional birth attendants, on methods to safely and confidentially assess women and girls seeking health services for intimate partner, family, and sexual violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) developing and enforcing national and operational women's health, children's health, and HIV/AIDS policies that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, with accompanying resources, including through cooperative efforts with ministries of health;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) developing information gathering systems within the health care sector that, consistent with safety and confidentiality concerns, collect and compile data on the type of violence experienced by women and girls, access to care, age of victims, and relationship of victims to perpetrators;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) working with governments to develop partnerships with civil society organizations to create referral networks systems for psychosocial, legal, economic, or other support services; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(F) integrating screening and assessment for gender-based violence into HIV/AIDS programming and other health programming into all country operation plans, and increasing women's access to information, strategies, and services to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) Conducting public awareness programs to change social norms and attitudes, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) supporting women survivors of violence to educate their communities on the impacts of violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) engaging men, including faith and traditional leaders;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) providing funding and programmatic support for mass media social change campaigns; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) supporting community efforts to change attitudes about harmful traditional practices, including child marriage, female genital mutilation, and so-called `honor killings'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) Improving economic opportunities for women and girls, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) supporting programs to help women meet their economic needs and to increase their economic opportunities, in both rural and urban areas, including through support for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) the establishment and development of businesses (micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises) through access to financial and nonfinancial services; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) education, literacy, and numeracy programs, leadership development and job skills training, especially in nontraditional fields and expected growth sectors;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) supporting programs to help increase property rights, social security, and home ownership and land tenure security for women by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) promoting equitable extension of property and inheritance rights, particularly rights to familial and marital property;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) promoting legal literacy, including among faith and traditional leaders, about women's property rights; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) helping women to make land claims and protecting women's existing claims and advocating for equitable land titling and registration for women, including safeguards for women title-holders in the case of domestic violence disputes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) integrating activities to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls into existing economic opportunity programs by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) integrating education on violence against women and girls into women's microfinance, microenterprise, and job skills training programs; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) training providers of economic opportunity services and programs in sensitivity to violence against women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) addressing violence against women and girls in the workplace.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) Improving educational opportunities for women and girls, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) supporting efforts and providing resources to provide training for all teachers and school administrators on school-related violence, in particular increasing awareness of violence against women and girls, and to improve reporting, referral, and implementation of codes of conduct;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) working to ensure the safety of girls during their travel to and from school and on school grounds;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) including programs for girls and boys on the unacceptability of violence against women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) conducting national and baseline surveys to collect data on school-related violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300H. ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE INTERNATIONAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS INTERNATIONALLY.

`(a) Coordinating Existing Aid Programs- The Coordinator of the Women's Global Initiatives, working with the Director of the Office of Women's Global Development, shall ensure that existing programs, contracts, grants, agreements, and foreign assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2166 et seq.), the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.), the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.), the FREEDOM Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5851 et seq.), and other Acts authorizing foreign assistance incorporate, as applicable, measures to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Authority- To implement and execute the comprehensive international strategy developed pursuant to section 300G, the President is authorized to provide assistance to nongovernmental organizations, multilateral institutions, and foreign countries for program activities described in section 300G(d).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Allocate New Funding- The Coordinator of the Office of Women's Global Initiatives is authorized to allocate funds to implement and execute the comprehensive international strategy developed pursuant to section 300G.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Use of Funds- Any funds made available under this section to nongovernmental organizations must be designated to organizations that have demonstrated expertise regarding violence against women and girls internationally, or that are in partnership with such organizations and that have demonstrated capabilities or expertise in a particular program activity described in subsection 300G(d).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(e) Grants to Women's Nongovernmental Organizations and Community-Based Organizations- Not less than 10 percent of the funds awarded in a fiscal year under this section shall be awarded to women's nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(f) Award Process- Funds awarded under this section shall be provided through an open, competitive, and transparent process where possible.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(g) Conditions- Entities receiving funds awarded through the grant program established under this section--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) should include the collection of data and the evaluation of program effectiveness;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) should be responsible for developing and reporting on outcomes related to preventing and responding to violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) should gather input from women's nongovernmental organizations or community-based organizations, including organizations with expertise in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) shall consider the safety of women and girls as a primary concern in deciding how to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(h) Authorization of Appropriations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Women's Global Initiatives $175,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section and section 300G.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- Amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) NONSUPPLANTATION- Funds authorized and appropriated under this Act shall supplement, not supplant, existing funds otherwise available for activities under this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300I. ANNUAL REPORT ON UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO END INTERNATIONAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS.

`(a) In General- Not later than 1 year after the submission of the comprehensive international strategy developed under section 300G, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, assisted by the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, shall submit to Congress a report to be entitled the `Report on International Violence Against Women and Girls'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Content- The report required under subsection (a) shall include the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) The goals and objectives of the comprehensive international strategy developed under section 300G(a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) The specific criteria used to determine the effectiveness of the strategy.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) A description of the coordination of all United States Government resources and international activities to prevent and respond to the problem of violence against women and girls, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) an identification of the Federal agencies involved;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) a description of the coordination between Federal agencies and departments, including those acting in the eligible countries; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) a description of the coordination with non-United States Government entities, including the governments of eligible countries, multilateral organizations and institutions, and nongovernmental organizations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) A description of the relationship between efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally and other United States assistance strategies in developing countries and diplomatic relationships.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) A description of efforts to include gender-based violence in United States diplomatic and peacemaking initiatives.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(6) A description of any significant efforts by bilateral and multilateral donors in support of preventing and responding to international violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(7) A description of the implementation of the agency-specific guidelines described in section 300B(d)(3)(H).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(8) A description of the activities of, and funding provided for programs that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in humanitarian relief, conflict and post-conflict operations, including violence perpetrated by humanitarian workers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(9) A description of United States training of foreign military and police forces, judicial officials, and humanitarian relief grantees to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(10) A description of data collection efforts conducted under this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(11) Identification of all contractors, subcontractors, grantees, and subgrantees receiving United States funds for preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(12) Recommendations related to best practices, effective strategies, and suggested improvements to enhance the impact of efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(13) A description of efforts to evaluate the accountability and efficacy of the programs funded pursuant to section 300H(g).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(14) A compilation of the descriptions on the nature and extent of violence against women and girls included in the annual Human Rights Reports required under section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(15) The identification of countries or regions with critical outbreaks of violence against women and girls described in subsection 300L(h), including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) an analysis of the situations, including the factors driving the violence, the role of government, militia, rebel, or other armed forces in the violence; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) an analysis of United States and other multilateral, bilateral, or governmental efforts to prevent or respond to the violence, assist survivors, or hold the perpetrators accountable.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(16) A description of United States resources that are being used--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) to assist in efforts to prevent or respond to the critical outbreaks of violence described in section 300L(h);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) assist survivors of such violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) hold perpetrators accountable for such violence; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) encourage all parties to the armed conflict to protect women and girls from violence.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State to meet the reporting requirements under this section--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2008; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) $500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300J. DATA COLLECTION.

`(a) In General- The Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, assisted by the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the Director of the Women in Development Office, shall be responsible for researching, collecting, monitoring, and evaluating data related to efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Use of Funds- Funds made available under this section may be used for the following purposes:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) To collect and analyze data on the scope and extent of all forms of violence against women and girls, including under-documented forms of violence and violence against marginalized groups. This work may include original research or analysis of existing data sets.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) To help governments of countries systematically collect and analyze data on violence against women and girls, including both national surveys and data collected by service providers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) To use internationally comparable indicators, norms, and methodologies for measuring the scope, prevalence, and incidence of violence against women and girls.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) To include data on violence against women and girls in national and international data collection efforts, including those administered and funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out the activities under this section .CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300K. ENHANCING UNITED STATES TRAINING OF FOREIGN MILITARY AND POLICE FORCES ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS.

`(a) Purpose- The purpose of this section is to ensure that United States programs to train foreign military and police forces and judicial officials include instruction on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls internationally.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Covered Programs- The programs covered under this section include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) activities authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) activities under section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109-163; 119 Stat. 3456) to build the capacity of foreign military and police forces to conduct counterterrorist operations or support military and stability operations in which the United States is participating.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Authorization- The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) incorporate training on how to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls into the basic training curricula of foreign military and police forces and judicial officials; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) ensure that United States assistance to units involved in regional or multilateral peacekeeping operations includes training on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls internationally.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out the activities under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 300L. ADDRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN HUMANITARIAN RELIEF, PEACEKEEPING, CONFLICT, AND POST-CONFLICT OPERATIONS.

`(a) Definitions- In this section, the term `Inter-Agency Standing Committee' means the committee established in response to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/182 (1991).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Activities of the Department of State the United States Agency for International Development- The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, provide assistance to programs that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in all humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) building the capacity of nongovernmental organizations to address the special protection needs of women and children affected by humanitarian, conflict, or post-conflict operations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) supporting local and international nongovernmental initiatives to prevent, detect, and report violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) conducting protection and security assessments for refugees and internally displaced persons in camps or in communities to improve the design and security of camps, with special emphasis on the security of women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) supporting efforts to reintegrate survivors of a humanitarian relief, conflict, or post-conflict operation through education, psychosocial assistance, trauma counseling, family and community reinsertion and reunification, and medical assistance; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) providing legal services for women and girls who are victims of violence during a humanitarian relief, conflict or post-conflict operation, including the collection of evidence for war crime tribunals and advocacy for legal reform; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) require that all grantees deployed in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) comply with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Six Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) train all 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;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) conduct appropriate public outreach to make known to the host community the mechanisms to report violence against women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) promptly and appropriately respond to reports of violence against women and girls and treat survivors in accordance with best practices regarding confidentiality.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Authorization of Appropriations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development $40,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010 for programs described in subsection (b)(1) that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations, in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) FUNDING NOT AT EXPENSE OF OTHER HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMS- Any amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) may not be provided at the expense of other humanitarian programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Activities of the United States Agency for International Development- The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, shall designate and deploy, as appropriate, protection officers as an integral part of Disaster Assistance Response Teams to ensure that programs to prevent and address violence against women and girls are integrated into humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(e) Activities of the Department of State- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to Congress on efforts to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) require that all private military contracting firms hired by the Department of State for humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) demonstrate a commitment to expanding the number and roles of women in such operations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) train all contractors who will be deployed to humanitarian relief, conflict, or post-conflict operations in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls. including in the use of mechanisms to report violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) conduct appropriate public outreach to make known to the host community the mechanisms to report violence against women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) promptly and appropriately respond to reports of violence against women and girls and treat survivors in accordance with best practices regarding confidentiality; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) assist women and girls formally involved in, or associated with, fighting forces as part of any multilateral or bilateral Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration efforts by providing--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) protection and suitable separate facilities for women and girls in demobilization and transit centers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) equitable reintegration activities and opportunities to women and girls, including access to schooling, vocational training, employment, and childcare; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) essential medical care and psychosocial support for women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(f) Activities of the Department of Defense- The Secretary of Defense shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives and the Director of the Office of Military Affairs of the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development, provide training in preventing and responding to violence against civilian women and girls to all United States military personnel, military contractors, military observers, and military police forces who will be deployed to humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives and the Director of the Office of Military Affairs of the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, establish mechanisms for reporting incidences of violence against civilian women and girls by United States military personnel, military contractors, military observers, and police forces participating in humanitarian relief, peacekeeping, and post-conflict operations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) establish appropriate public outreach to notify the civilian population of the mechanisms for reporting incidences of violence against civilian women and girls by United States military personnel, military contractors, military observers, and police forces.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(g) Addressing Violence Against Civilian Women and Girls by United Nations Peacekeepers-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES- The Secretary of State shall encourage member states of the United Nations--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) to support expanding the number and roles of female officers in all United Nations peacekeeping missions, whether as military forces, civilian police, or military observers; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) to routinely put forward the names of qualified female candidates for senior United Nations military and civilian management positions, particularly for overseas missions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ACTIONS OF UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS- It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary-General of the United Nations should continue to strengthen the existing 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 United Nations military and civilian personnel by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) requiring that troop contributing countries properly train all soldiers on the United Nations guidelines regarding appropriate conduct towards civilians, in particular those guidelines that address violence against women and girls, before participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) supporting the expansion of the role and number of female officers in all United Nations peacekeeping missions, whether as military forces, civilian police, or military observers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) strongly encouraging all United Nations member states to routinely put forward the names of qualified female candidates for senior United Nations military and civilian management positions, particularly for overseas missions;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for individuals to safely bring allegations of violence against women and girls to the attention of United Nations peacekeeping mission commanders and the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) ensuring the capability and capacity for the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight to investigate all credible allegations of violence against women and girls timely and efficiently, and in a manner that protects the whistleblower;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(F) improving informational programs for all United Nations personnel on their responsibility to prevent violence against women and girls and not to engage in acts of violence against women and girls;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(G) demanding that troop contributing countries--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) thoroughly investigate allegations of their nationals engaging in violence against women and girls while serving on United Nations peacekeeping missions; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) punish those found guilty of such misconduct; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(H) continuing to permanently exclude individuals found to have engaged in violence against women and girls as well as troop contingent commanders and civilian managerial personnel complicit in such behavior, from participating in future United Nations peacekeeping missions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(h) Emergency Measures for Critical Outbreaks of Violence During Conflict or Post-Conflict Operations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO CRITICAL OUTBREAKS- The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense, shall identify and take emergency measures to respond to critical outbreaks of violence against women and girls in situations of armed conflict when it is determined that the violence is being used as a weapon of intimidation and abuse.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) DETERMINATION- Violence against women and girls shall be determined to be a `critical outbreak' if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) a United States Government report, allied government information, or credible non-governmental or media accounts depict a widespread pattern of violence against women or girls, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, that is escalating in the number of victims or brutality of attacks and that takes place in an environment of relative impunity; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) escalating violence against women or girls is part of an organized campaign by governmental or rebel forces or militias.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) EMERGENCY MEASURES- Not later than 180 days after the identification of a critical outbreak, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense, shall develop emergency measures to respond to the outbreak identified under paragraph (1).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) CONSULTATION- In developing emergency measures under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Coordinator, shall consult with--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) nongovernmental organizations with demonstrated expertise working on preventing and addressing systematic violence against women and girls as a weapon of intimidation and abuse in situations of conflict and war; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) international organizations, such as the United Nations and its subsidiary funds, agencies, and programs, which are preventing and addressing systematic violence against women and girls as a weapon of intimidation and abuse in situations of conflict and war.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) CONTENT- The emergency measures developed under paragraph (1) shall include a description of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) the bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts that the Secretary of State will take to address the critical outbreak, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) efforts with the government in which the violence is occurring, governments of the region in which the violence is occurring, and other allied governments; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) efforts in international fora, such as the United Nations and its subsidiary agencies, funds and programs, including in the United Nations Security Council, as appropriate; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) the efforts by the United States Government to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) protect women and girls at risk in a critical outbreak region;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) urge all parties to the armed conflict to protect women and girls; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) facilitate the prosecution of those responsible for the violence in a critical outbreak area.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(6) NOTICE- The Secretary of State shall notify Congress of efforts to respond to critical outbreaks, including a description of the bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts of the Department of State.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) Authorization of Appropriations- In addition to amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (c), there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for emergency measures, including the expansion of reporting mechanisms and programs, for each critical outbreak of violence identified under this section.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 103. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS.

Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraph (10), by striking `; and' and inserting a semicolon;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(12) wherever applicable, the nature and extent of violence against women and girls.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE II--OTHER PROVISIONS

SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF 1980.

(a) Performance Pay- Section 405 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3965) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(f) Promotion of Human Rights- Service in the promotion of internationally recognized human rights, including preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, shall serve as a basis for the award of performance pay.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Foreign Service Awards- Section 614 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is amended by inserting `and preventing and responding to violence against women and girls' after `religion'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Foreign Service Training- Chapter 2 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 212. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.

`The Secretary of State, assisted by the Coordinator of Women's Global Initiatives, shall include, as part of the standard training provided for officers of the Service (including chiefs of mission), instruction on international violence against women and girls, including domestic and sexual violence against women and girls in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 202. SUPPORT FOR MULTILATERAL EFFORTS TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS.

There is authorized to be appropriated to the International Organizations and Programs Account $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to support the United Nations Development Fund for Women Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink