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Violence prevention experts and human rights advocates cheered Thursday when Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Representatives William Delahunt (D-MA), Ted Poe (R-TX) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), spoke at a Capitol Hill event celebrating the introduction of the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA). This groundbreaking legislation would, for the first time, make stopping violence against women and girls a priority in American diplomacy and foreign aid.

“Societies where women are safe, where women are empowered to realize their aspirations and move their communities forward, are healthier and more stable societies,” Senator Kerry said. “This bill will protect women everywhere, and it turns out that championing these values is also an extremely effective and cost-efficient way to advance America’s foreign assistance goals and strengthen our national security.”

Senator Kerry thanked all the I-VAWA (HR 4594/S 2982) co-sponsors and acknowledged the support of Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who were unable to attend.

“By fighting violence against women, we’re not just saving the lives of women around the world, we’re making a down payment on our own national security,” Representative Delahunt said, adding that I-VAWA will “reduce violence against women and girls if it is an integral part of foreign policy.” He said the legislation can, “make the world more stable and less prone to conflict and war.”

Both Senator Kerry and Representative Delahunt chair key committees or subcommittees, and both sponsored hearings on violence against women worldwide last year. Academy award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, a UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador, was among the witnesses, as was Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) President Esta Soler.

“The United States is the global leader in human rights,” Representative Poe said at Thursday’s event. “We need to let the world know that it is not socially acceptable any longer to let women be assaulted simply because they are women… This legislation says to the world: No more.”

Representative Schakowsky agreed, calling for the United States to “take a stand and lead… Whether a girl is born in the United States or in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she should not have to fear gender based violence… The International Violence Against Women Act will give our government the tools to fight this violence around the world.”

“Every day, too many women and girls across the globe endure horrific acts of violence,” Senator Boxer added. “They are disfigured by acid, raped and beaten, or they are denied the opportunity to see a doctor. This important legislation gives the United States government the tools to make international violence against women and girls a top diplomatic priority.”

I-VAWA would help end violence through prevention programs that help women and girls get an education or improve their economic opportunities; programs that support men and boys in being partners in ending violence; health and support programs for survivors; and legal and judicial training programs that work to hold perpetrators accountable. The legislation supports investments in community-based organizations, as well as working with foreign governments to create change in their own countries. It also provides funding and training to better address violence against women in humanitarian situations, such as the work in Haiti now.

“Violence against women and girls worldwide is a shameful and costly global epidemic,” Soler said in a statement. “No woman or girl deserves to be beaten or raped – not here or anywhere in the world. While it is not the United States’ responsibility alone to end violence against women and girls, the world does see our leadership as essential. The introduction of I-VAWA today is a key step in demonstrating that leadership and helping to end this horrific violence. Violence against women and girls is an emergency every day. We need a response that is sustained and durable. Now that the International Violence Against Women Act has been introduced, we need Congress to act quickly to pass and fund it.”  Click here to encourage your Member of Congress to co-sponsor I-VAWA. 

Activists Humaira Shahid, from Pakistan, and Irene Safi Turner, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, spoke at the event, putting a human face on this global problem. Shahid said, “I-VAWA has my sweat and blood in it too,” calling the legislation a way to “invest in women to bring about real change.” Turner called I-VAWA, “an act of compassion and security that will bring a sense of hope to thousands of women who have been victims of gender based violence.”

Americans support the new legislation. Public opinion research commissioned by the Family Violence Prevention Fund and Women Thrive Worldwide last year finds that 61 percent of voters say addressing global violence should be one of the top priorities for our government. One in four says it should be the top priority. The Lake Research Partners research also found that eight in ten voters (82 percent) support I-VAWA, with support crossing all demographic and party lines.

The United Nations Development Fund for Women estimates that one of every three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime. A 2005 World Health Organization study found that of 15 sites in ten countries – representing diverse cultural settings – the proportion of ever-partnered women who had experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime ranged from 15 percent in Japan to 71 percent in Ethiopia.

The Lake Research Partners public opinion research consisted of a nationwide telephone survey of 1,200 registered voters, conducted from July 14 - 21, 2009. Its margin of error is +/- 3.1%. Read more about the research here.