Contact Us       Home       Search    

Program & Actions

What You Can Do § International Violence Against Women Act

International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA, S.2279)

§Take Action

Imagine a world where

• bruises and broken bones no longer keep mothers from caring for their children...
• girls can get an education without being abused by their teachers...
• women can go to work without fearing violence in the workplace...
• without violence against women...
• women are free to thrive

On October 31, 2007 a bill developed by Senators Joe Biden and Richard Lugar that would help empower millions of women to escape violence and poverty. The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) was reintroduced on February 4, 2010 in the 111th Congress as HR 4594 and S 2982.

Help make it a reality for women worldwide! It's a big bill with a lot in it – from establishing several new key offices focused on women at State, to mandating the inclusion of VAWA statistics in human-rights reports, to making it the foreign policy of the U.S. to prioritize work against VAWA and to work with other world governments.

§ Please go here   http://volunteers.unicefusa.org/activities/advocate/violence-against-women.html for more information.

Specifically, the International Violence Against Women Act will:

• Create one central Office for Women's Global Initiatives to coordinate the United States' policies, programs and resources that deal with women's issues. Never before has there been one person who reports directly to the Secretary of State on issues related to gender-based violence.
• Mandate a 5-year comprehensive strategy to fight violence against women in 10 to 20 selected countries and provides a new, dedicated funding stream of $175 million a year to support programs dealing with violence against women in five areas: the criminal and civil justice system, healthcare, girls' access to education and school safety, women's economic empowerment, and public awareness campaigns.
• Require training, reporting mechanisms and a system for dealing with women and girls afflicted by violence during humanitarian, conflict and post-conflict operations. As the recent reports from the Congo make tragically clear, in situations of humanitarian crises, conflict and post-conflict operations, women and girls are particularly vulnerable to violence. Reports of refugee women being raped while collecting firewood, soldiers sexually abusing girls in exchange for token food items, or women subjected to unimaginable brutality and torture as a tactic of war are shocking in number and inhumanity. There is a dire need for increased training and reporting requirements for refugee workers to help crack down on these brutal acts of violence. In addition, the bill crafts a new designation of "critical outbreaks" and requires emergency measures when rape is used as a weapon of war or in conflicts where violence against women is sharply escalating with impunity.