Violence Against Women
The United States is providing $10 million in funding for efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies worldwide.
Secretary of State John Kerry announced the initiative September 23. Called Safe from the Start, the program will allow the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies and organizations to hire specialized staff, launch new programs and develop innovative methods to protect women and girls at the onset of emergencies around the world.
The United States, according to a State Department news release, will also coordinate with other donors and stakeholders to develop a framework for action and accountability to ensure efforts to address gender-based violence are routinely prioritized as a life-saving intervention along with other vital humanitarian assistance.
This initiative builds on the framework established by the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally. The United States considers gender-based violence a human rights violation, a public health challenge and a barrier to women's civil, social, political and economic participation, according to a report on the action plan released by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The United Nations Population Fund reports that almost 50 percent of all sexual assaults worldwide are against girls age 15 and younger. Sexual violence is often used as a tactic of war during conflicts. In the context of humanitarian crises and emergencies, civilian women and children are often the most vulnerable to exploitation, violence and abuse because of their gender, age and status in society.
In August 2012, President Obama issued the Executive Order on Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls Globally with the goal of further enhancing his administration's efforts to advance the rights and status of women and girls and to promote gender equality in U.S. foreign policy. The executive order created an interagency working group co-chaired by the secretary of state and the administrator of USAID to coordinate the efforts of various U.S. government departments and agencies in fighting gender-based violence worldwide.
U.S. funding will help protect vulnerable women and girls — such as this woman and her child in a Somali refugee camp — from gender-based violence in conflict and disaster situations.