'Landmark' International Violence Against Women Act Receives Bipartisan Support

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The excitement of "Snowmageddon" may have overshadowed another important event that occurred at the end of last week.

In a rare showing of bipartisanship, politicians introduced the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) on Thursday. The act makes combating gender-based violence a "strategic foreign policy imperative," according to a press release from Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) office.

"Nations with the worst track record in preventing violence against women are also the most unstable and are breeding grounds for terrorism," said Rep. Bill Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts and a sponsor of the legislation. "It is crucial for our own national security that we be a global leader in addressing this epidemic of gender violence."

The "landmark" act was introduced by Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Reps. Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), in addition to Delahunt.

In an op-ed in Saturday's Boston Globe, activists Humaira Shahid of Harvard and Ritu Sharma of the nonprofit organization Women Thrive Worldwide lauded IVAWA, saying it had the power to "truly be a life-changing force for millions of women and girls" across the globe.

"The bill addresses, for the first time, violence against women and girls through all relevant US foreign policy efforts, including its international assistance programs," Shahid and Sharma wrote. "It would also make the issue a diplomatic priority for the first time, asking the United States to respond within three months to horrific acts of violence against women and girls committed during conflict and war."

The bill was designed by Amnesty International USA in conjunction with Family Violence Prevention Fund and Women Thrive Worldwide, and forty international and 150 U.S.-based groups also participated. According to Amnesty International USA, the bill would:

• Support NGOs that combat violence
• Bolster economic and education-oriented programs for women
• "Put the United States unequivocally on the record . . . in saying that ending violence against women and girls is a national priority"
• Strengthen health services for survivors of violence
• "Bring perpetrators of violence to justice"

Actress Reese Witherspoon, who is the honorary chairwoman for the Avon Foundation for Women, praised the act and urged "its swift, bipartisan passage" in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee press release from Feb. 4.

"Nothing is more important than ensuring the safety of women and girls everywhere," Witherspoon said. "The passage of IVAWA will . . . allow us to achieve our goal: to dramatically reduce violence against women and the damage it wreaks around the globe."

So far, the act has 21 co-sponsors in the Senate.

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