Four women will die at the hands of their partners and 700 are raped or sexually assaulted each day. Find out how you can help stop violence against women.

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Violence Against Women Act

Gender Based Violence Against Women Internationally
Internationally, one out of three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused during her lifetime, according to Amnesty International. Across the globe, millions of women are raped by partners, relatives, friends and strangers, by employers and colleagues, and by soldiers and members of armed groups. According the World Health Organization, 70 percent of female murder victims are killed by their male partners.

Throughout the world, violence touches women in multiple ways. Violence in the family includes battering by intimate partners, fathers or brothers, sexual abuse of female children and young women in the household by family members, marital rape, and female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women. Beyond the confines of the home, women face violence in their communities including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and assault at work, in educational institutions, and elsewhere. Women live in fear of trafficking, forced prostitution, rape, and other abuses by armed groups.

Internationally, women often have inadequate laws protecting them from this violence. Women may face even more abuse by states and governments, including rape by government forces during armed conflict, violence by officials against refugee women, and acts of violence committed or condoned by police, prison guards, soldiers, border guards, and immigration officials.

For the lives of women everywhere, the time to act is now! As a leader in human rights, the United States has a responsibility to help women and girls who live in fear of abuse throughout the world. The U.S. House and Senate are set to soon introduce the International Violence Against Women Act. I-VAWA was drafted in consultation with more than 150 groups, including U.S. NGO’s and 40 women’s groups across the globe. I-VAWA will offer resources to support best practices against violence aimed at women and girls. It will incorporate training, protection, and services across a range of situations.

I-VAWA focuses on:

• Integrating efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls as part of U.S. foreign assistance programs comprehensively including health, education, economic growth, legal reform, humanitarian assistance, and foreign security force training.
• Supporting overseas non-governmental and community-based organizations working to end violence against women and girls.
• Creating more U.S. leadership and accountability to address violence against women and girls and making prevention of violence against women and girls a greater U.S. diplomatic priority.