USA: Legislation proposed to combat violence against women and girls

Submitted by crinadmin on Wed, 07/11/2007 - 06:51

Acts of violence against women and girls occur every day around the world. Rape continues to be used as a tool of war to terrorise women and girls and tear apart communities. US Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) recently introduced bipartisan legislation, S. 2279, which would make efforts to address gender-based violence a key priority in US foreign assistance programmes.

This legislation is especially important for women and girls in war-torn areas who are so vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse. Horrific levels of sexual violence have been witnessed in a number of conflicts, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Darfur, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The International Violence Against Women Act contains a number of important provisions aimed at increasing services for survivors of gender-based violence and improving prevention and protection programmes.

Recent reports detailing unimaginable brutality against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo are a tragic reminder of the urgent need for concrete action.

Further information

Programming to Address Violence Against Women (UNFPA, February 2007)
Mapping of Tools for Working with Men and Boys to end Violence against Girls, Boys and Women (Save the Children Sweden, Regional Office for South and Central Asia, February 2007)
The Secretary-General's in-depth study on violence against women (October 2006)
CRIN's website on violence against children

Country:

United States

Issues:

Gender and girls

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.