[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 765 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 765
To improve United States consideration of, and strategic support for,
programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence from the onset
of humanitarian emergencies and to build the capacity of humanitarian
actors to address the immediate and long-term challenges resulting from
such violence, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 16, 2021
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Rosen, Mr.
Van Hollen, Mr. Markey, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Kaine,
Mr. Schatz, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Reed) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve United States consideration of, and strategic support for,
programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence from the onset
of humanitarian emergencies and to build the capacity of humanitarian
actors to address the immediate and long-term challenges resulting from
such violence, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Women and Girls Safe from
the Start Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Displaced and stateless people and refugees,
particularly women and girls, in conflict settings, natural
disasters, and other humanitarian emergencies, often face
extreme violence and threats of violence, including--
(A) rape and sexual assault;
(B) domestic or intimate partner violence;
(C) child, early, and forced marriage;
(D) trafficking for the purposes of sexual
exploitation and forced labor;
(E) harmful traditional practices, such as female
genital mutilation or cutting; and
(F) harassment, exploitation, and abuse by
humanitarian personnel.
(2) Gender-based violence increases during humanitarian
emergencies and violent acts, such as intimate partner violence
and child marriage, are often exacerbated during times of
crisis.
(3) Nearly 1 in 5 women affected by a humanitarian
emergency report experiencing sexual violence during such
emergency.
(4) During the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of domestic
violence, child marriage, trafficking, and other forms of
gender-based violence and abuse has increased and compounds the
risk displaced women and girls face in emergencies.
(5) Survivors of gender-based violence in humanitarian
emergencies require--
(A) immediate, life-saving assistance, including
access to medical and psychosocial services, such as
post-rape care;
(B) access to justice and community-level
reintegration; and
(C) opportunities to earn livelihoods, build
skills, and receive an education.
(6) Early medical interventions after incidents of rape can
help to prevent infections, HIV, and pregnancy.
(7) Empowering women to assume leadership roles in
delivering humanitarian assistance and effectively engaging
local women's rights organizations to provide life-saving
assistance is critical to supporting survivors or those at risk
of gender-based violence during humanitarian crises.
(8) Between 2016 and 2018, inclusive, funding for gender-
based violence in humanitarian crises represented just 0.12
percent of all funding for humanitarian response activities.
(9) During 2013, the international community launched the
Global Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence
in Emergencies initiative to improve prevention and responses
to gender-based violence in humanitarian settings.
(10) The United States demonstrated its commitment to this
initiative by implementing Safe from the Start, under the
direction of the Department of State and the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID)--
(A) to reduce the incidence of gender-based
violence; and
(B) to ensure quality services for survivors from
the very onset of emergencies through timely and
effective humanitarian action.
(11) The United States has further demonstrated its
commitment to prevent and respond to gender-based violence
globally through the following documents:
(A) The United States Strategy to Prevent and
Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, published by
USAID in August 2012.
(B) The United States Global Strategy to Empower
Adolescent Girls, adopted by the Department of State in
March 2016.
(C) The U.S. Strategy To Support Women and Girls at
Risk From Violent Extremism and Conflict, submitted to
Congress in October 2018.
(D) The United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and
Security, released by the President in June 2019.
(E) Advancing Protection and Care for Children in
Adversity: A U.S. Government Strategy for International
Assistance (2019-2023), posted online by USAID in July
2019.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY OBJECTIVES.
(a) In General.--It is in the national interest of the United
States to take effective action--
(1) to prevent, mitigate, and respond to gender-based
violence in humanitarian emergencies around the world;
(2) to promote respect for basic human rights and gender
equality; and
(3) to support economic growth, improved public health, and
peace and stability around the world.
(b) Programs, Activities, and Initiatives.--The policy objectives
set forth in subsection (a) are reinforced through programs,
activities, and initiatives that--
(1) build the capacity of humanitarian actors responding to
crises, including the capacity of governments, international
organizations, international nongovernmental organizations,
faith-based and non-faith-based organizations, and local
nongovernmental groups (especially women-led organizations), to
prevent, mitigate, and respond to gender-based violence;
(2) systematically integrate and coordinate efforts to
prevent gender-based violence, including by--
(A) incorporating gender-based violence risk
mitigation interventions across all humanitarian
sectors; and
(B) promoting support for, and collaboration with,
gender-based violence response experts;
(3) support activities that--
(A) prevent and mitigate the impacts of gender-
based violence in humanitarian settings; and
(B) empower survivors or those at risk of gender-
based violence;
(4) improve the delivery and quality of services for
survivors and at-risk populations of gender-based violence,
including--
(A) access to medical and psychosocial services
that comply with international standards; and
(B) service delivery to hard-to-reach populations;
(5) ensure protection against and accountability for sexual
exploitation and abuse, by and against humanitarian personnel;
(6) advance the active leadership and participation of
women and girls impacted by humanitarian crises, including in
the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and
other activities;
(7) ensure, when providing assistance to international and
nongovernmental organizations in a humanitarian response, that
particular emphasis be given to such organizations led by women
impacted by the humanitarian crisis; and
(8) promote transparency and accountability of United
States Government programs and humanitarian implementers'
efforts related to preventing and responding to gender-based
violence in humanitarian response.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZED SAFE FROM THE START ACTIVITIES.
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development, shall carry out
Safe from the Start activities that accomplish the policy objectives
set forth in section 3, including--
(1) training and capacity building for humanitarian
personnel and other humanitarian first responders--
(A) to identify and prevent gender-based violence
in humanitarian settings; and
(B) to support survivors and those at risk through
best practices, including--
(i) established international minimum
standards for gender-based violence prevention
and response; and
(ii) referrals to qualified gender-based
violence responders;
(2) the deployment of, and support for, skilled gender
advisors and female humanitarian aid workers that comply with
international standards, including through the Gender-Based
Violence Area of Responsibility coordinated by the United
Nations Population Fund;
(3) the development of technical skills of local
nongovernmental organizations and other local actors, such as
women impacted by the humanitarian crisis, including skills
related to advocacy, monitoring, data collection, evaluation,
and communications;
(4) performing on-the-ground gender analyses and rapid
gender assessments;
(5) the deployment of international minimum standards,
guidelines, best practices, and other tools to improve the
integration of efforts to identify, prevent, and address
gender-based violence across all humanitarian assistance
programs and initiatives, in consultation with international
and local nongovernmental organizations and other gender-based
violence experts;
(6) promoting existing international minimum standards,
indicators, and metrics to ensure appropriate response and
assess the adequacy of interventions relating to gender-based
violence;
(7) efforts to improve the quality and availability of
services for survivors and those at risk of gender-based
violence, including medical and psychosocial care and hygiene
and dignity kits;
(8) expanding and improving empowerment activities,
including--
(A) women's and girls' economic opportunities and
livelihoods;
(B) social network building;
(C) education and skills; and
(D) leadership roles and participation in
humanitarian response; and
(9) establishing accountability mechanisms and monitoring
and reporting tools to prevent and respond to incidents of
sexual or other gender-based exploitation or abuse perpetrated
by personnel delivering humanitarian assistance and associated
personnel.
SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Progress Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development, shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees
that describes the progress made by the United States, in
conjunction with partners, such as the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Population Fund,
the World Health Organization, the World Food Program, the
United Nations Children's Fund, and the International
Organization for Migration, to prevent, mitigate, and address
gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies.
(2) Report elements.--The report required under paragraph
(1) shall include--
(A)(i) an analysis of data and research regarding
the key drivers of gender-based violence in
humanitarian emergencies;
(ii) the needs and services required by survivors
or those at risk; and
(iii) successful program models to address,
prevent, and mitigate such violence; and
(B) a detailed description of the programs,
diplomatic efforts, and other activities undertaken by
the United States to implement Safe from the Start, in
accordance with section 4, including--
(i) a description of the steps taken--
(I) to integrate prevention,
mitigation, and respond to gender-based
violence into humanitarian assistance;
(II) to develop humanitarian
standards; and
(III) to respond to specific
humanitarian crises;
(ii) a description of the progress made
toward achieving specific objectives, metrics,
and indicators for implementation of Safe from
the Start programming, disaggregated, as
appropriate, by gender, age, and type of
violence;
(iii) a list of the all projects funded or
supported through Safe from the Start
programming, with specific details on levels of
funding or assistance and impacts of such
projects disaggregated, as appropriate, by
gender, age, and type of violence;
(iv) an assessment of the extent to which
consultations with nongovernmental
organizations, including local, national, and
intergovernmental actors have led to the
development of programs, standards, and
interventions to combat gender-based violence;
(v) a list of the policies or programs
implemented by international or multilateral
organizations receiving funding from the United
States Government--
(I) to improve capacity and
internal protocols to identify signs of
gender-based violence, including sexual
exploitation and abuse; and
(II) to integrate initiatives to
prevent and respond to gender-based
violence into programs of the
organization; and
(vi) a description of any diplomatic action
taken bilaterally, multilaterally, or with
international organizations to encourage the
governments of other countries and
international organizations to adopt policies
and support efforts to prevent and respond to
gender-based violence in emergency situations
in alignment with the Global Call to Action on
Protection from Gender-Based Violence in
Emergencies.
(3) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex. The unclassified portion of such report shall be
concurrently published on a publicly available website of the
Department of State.
(c) Budget Report.--Not later than 120 days after the President
submits each budget to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a budget
crosscut report that--
(1) displays the budget proposed, including any planned
interagency or intra-agency transfer, for each of the principal
Federal agencies that will be carrying out activities through
the Safe from the Start programming focus described in section
4 in the fiscal year for which such budget is submitted;
(2) separately reports the amount of funding to be provided
pertaining to the Safe from the Start strategy under subsection
(b), to the extent such plans are available; and
(3) identifies, at the account level to the extent
practicable, all Federal assistance and research expenditures
for Safe from the Start activities in each of the 5 previous
fiscal years.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act the
greater of--
(1) such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year to
carry out this Act; or
(2) the amount expended by the Department of State during
fiscal year 2018 to carry out Safe from the Start activities.
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