WASHINGTON (November 26, 2019) – The global poverty-fighting organization CARE is pleased to welcome the House introduction of HR 5267, the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA)*. This bill will ensure that tackling gender-based violence is a foundation of U.S. foreign policy.
IVAWA makes ending gender-based violence a top diplomatic, development, and foreign assistance priority by ensuring the U.S. government has a strategy to efficiently and effectively coordinate existing cross-governmental efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally. The bill empowers the United States to work with other countries toward preventing violence against women and girls in development and humanitarian settings and responding to the effects of these practices on societies and economies. It holds governments accountable for acting to end rampant violence while empowering women and girls to lift their voices against it.
The statistics on violence against women worldwide present a startling picture: Nearly a third of women will face physical, mental, or sexual abuse in their lifetimes, and approximately 1 in 5 women report experiencing sexual violence in humanitarian emergencies. Nearly 12 million girls are married before their 18th birthday – approximately 23 girls each minute.
“CARE applauds the introduction of this important bill. It is critical that women and girls be able to lead lives free from violence. This is a fundamental right and necessary to achieving social justice.” said David Ray, vice president of advocacy at CARE. “CARE urges Congress to swiftly consider and pass the IVAWA to empower women and girls, along with their communities and nations, to end gender-based violence.”
About CARE:
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That’s why women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to confront hunger, ensure nutrition and food security for all, improve education and health, create economic opportunity and respond to emergencies. In 2018, CARE worked in 95 countries and reached more than 56 million people around the world.
Media Contact:
Vanessa Parra, +1 917-525-0590, Vanessa.Parra@care.org
*Original cosponsors: Representatives Eliot Engel, Nita M. Lowey, James P. McGovern, Jackie Speier, John Garamendi, Val Butler Demings, Rick Larsen, Salud Carbajal, Frank Pallone, Jr., Donald M. Payne, Jr., Gwen Moore, Grace Meng, Barbara Lee, Theodore E. Deutch, Dina Titus, Nydia Velázquez, Seth Moulton, Alan Lowenthal, Betty McCollum, Alcee L. Hastings, Bobby L. Rush, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ro Khanna, Juan Vargas, Jamie Raskin, Gerald Connolly, Julia Brownley, Mark Pocan, Jim Cooper, Thomas R. Suozzi, Pramila Jayapal, Sean Patrick Maloney, Cedric Richmond, Chellie Pingree, Grace F. Napolitano, Earl Blumenauer, Mark Takano, Adam Schiff, David N. Cicilline, Diana DeGette, Matt Cartwright, Kathleen Rice, Peter A. DeFazio, Brad Schneider, Jimmy Gomez, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Lois Frankel, Chrissy Houlahan, Adam Smith, Ben Ray Luján, Raúl M. Grijalva, Suzan K. DelBene, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Darren Soto, Derek Kilmer, Brad Sherman, Danny K. Davis, Joyce Beatty, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Peter Welch, Ted Lieu, Tom O’Halleran, Ann McLane Kuster, Kathy Castor, Anna G. Eshoo, Ron Kind, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Susan Wild, John B. Larson, Jahana Hayes, Wm. Lacy Clay, Bill Foster, Steve Cohen, Sean Casten, Yvette D. Clarke, Debbie Dingell, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Jose E. Serrano, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, David E. Price, Jared Huffman, Brenda L. Lawrence, Marcia L. Fudge, Zoe Lofgren, Ayanna Pressley, Andy Levin, Carolyn Maloney, David Scott, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Jennifer Wexton, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Ami Bera, John Yarmuth, TJ Cox, A. Donald McEachin, Anthony G. Brown, Rashida Tlaib, Jim Costa, Elaine G. Luria, Chris Pappas, James R. Langevin, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Dwight Evans, Cheri Bustos, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Robin L. Kelly, Paul Tonko, Gregory Meeks, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Deb Haaland, Henry Cuellar, Stephen Lynch, David Trone, Tom Malinowski, Adriano Espaillat, Tony Cardenas, Al Lawson, Ilhan Omar, Alma Adams, Linda T. Sánchez, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr.