The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), introduced by Congresswoman Jan Schokowsky (D-IL), would be a significant advancement for women and girls as participants in humanitarian crisis situations and the future development of their communities. Gender identities, violence, and gender inequality should be essential considerations for foreign aid and development. Gender Based Violence (GBV) is both highly personal and individually devastating, and is a community, public health, and global economic and humanitarian issue.
Harassment, sexual violence and coerced sex, and physical assault are forms of gender-based violence commonly used against women, which can be more prevalent in crisis situations. One in three women globally will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. GBV negatively affects a woman’s and her family’s ability to meet basic needs. Women can be forced into sexual and other situations when attempting to receive food and humanitarian aid. When crisis occurs vulnerable populations become more vulnerable and services, support, and recourse for those who experience violence are destabilized or non-existent.
IVAWA is intended to systematically integrate prevention and response strategies into foreign aid and development work. This integration would potentially increase safety and recourse for women and girls and increase the effectiveness of United States foreign aid and development goals. IVAWA does not carry a budget. Its focus on coordination, integration, and efficiency of prevention and response would allow foreign aid policy to be more effective by empowering those in crisis and have a lasting impact on development and redevelopment.
GBV and gender inequality are corruptive to foreign aid and emergency response, detrimental to developmental foreign policy goals, and have lasting economic and community consequences. GBV inhibits women’s abilities to fully participate socially and economically, suppressing their involvement in developmental or rebuilding efforts. Activities such as the direct participation and involvement of women in food and humanitarian aid distribution and access to financial, entrepreneurial, and other anti-poverty opportunities for women can have a dramatic effect on preventing GBV.
Addressing gender inequality and violence is necessary for prevention and response, elevating women, girls, families, and communities. Just as conversation about social perceptions of gender and GBV are needed, integration and implementation of policies and approaches to these issues are needed to reduce gender inequalities within communities and globally. IVAWA would raise GBV to a central priority for the United States. Foreign development goals cannot be fully realized, and foreign aid cannot be as impactful as possible, without the inclusion of prevention and response strategies for GBV and consideration for the participation of women and girls.
IVAWA is currently sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives (introduced as H.R. 3571), but needs sponsors in the Senate.
(Photo by Denise Carbonell)
Responses to “Legislation would take aim at foreign gender based violence”