[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 801 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 801

 Recognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon 
 and supporting women's full and meaningful participation in political 
                                 life.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2021

Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Speier, Ms. Omar, Ms. Ocasio-
  Cortez, and Ms. Bush) submitted the following resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon 
 and supporting women's full and meaningful participation in political 
                                 life.

Whereas women have been on the frontlines of social justice movements around the 
        world and throughout our Nation's history;
Whereas women are underrepresented in politics across the globe, comprising only 
        one-quarter of all legislators worldwide;
Whereas women are underrepresented at every level of government in the United 
        States;
Whereas despite this disproportionate underrepresentation, the presence of women 
        in political institutions, including women officeholders and staff with 
        diverse racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, and class identities, has 
        increased significantly in the United States in recent years;
Whereas violence against women is a systemic problem embedded in many aspects of 
        our society, including our most esteemed political institutions;
Whereas violence against women in politics is a specific, gendered phenomenon 
        stemming from a resistance to women's increased political participation 
        and intending to undermine women as political actors;
Whereas violence against women in politics occurs at both individual and 
        institutional levels and takes many forms, in person and online, 
        including misogynistic verbal attacks, sexual harassment, death threats, 
        and economic, psychological, or physical violence meant to discourage 
        women from participating fully in the political arena;
Whereas research shows that violence against women in politics is a global 
        phenomenon;
Whereas a 2016 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) report 
        revealed the prevalence of violence against women in politics in 40 
        developing countries and outlined steps to combat it;
Whereas a 2016 Inter-Parliamentary Union survey of women parliamentarians from 
        39 countries found that 81.8 percent of respondents were subjected to 
        psychological violence, 44.4 percent of whom received threats of death, 
        rape, beatings, or abduction during their parliamentary terms, including 
        threats to kidnap or kill their children;
Whereas research, including a 2019 report from the National Democratic Institute 
        for International Affairs, has shown that women candidates and other 
        politically involved women are more likely than men to experience abuse 
        and harassment on social media platforms;
Whereas a 2020 report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that both 
        Democratic and Republican women officeholders received a higher share of 
        abusive comments on social media platforms in comparison to their male 
        peers;
Whereas a 2021 study published by the Wilson Center observed that gendered and 
        sexualized narratives were potent weapons in disinformation campaigns 
        targeting women leaders in the United States and abroad;
Whereas a 2018 Amnesty International report revealed the intersectional nature 
        of online, gender-based violence by highlighting the experiences of 
        women of color, women from ethnic and religious minorities, women with 
        disabilities, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women, and nonbinary 
        individuals;
Whereas a 2018 report from an expert group meeting convened by the United 
        Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women 
        indicated that women of color and women of marginalized communities are 
        disproportionately affected by violence against women in politics 
        worldwide;
Whereas findings from a 2017 survey of United States mayors conducted by 6 
        political scientists revealed that women are more likely than their male 
        counterparts to experience physical and psychological abuse;
Whereas there have been documented instances of violence against women in the 
        United States Congress, including shootings, assault, sexual harassment, 
        nonconsensual distribution of intimate visual depictions, death threats, 
        and sexist verbal attacks;
Whereas violence against women in politics has been found to limit women's civic 
        engagement as well as discourage and discredit women's political 
        participation;
Whereas a 2017 USAID report called for increased attention to the issue of 
        violence against women in politics as well as further research on its 
        manifestation within various political contexts, including protests, 
        polling places, campaigns, political parties, and government 
        institutions; and
Whereas a 2019 report by the Center for American Women and Politics noted the 
        presence of violence against women in politics during the 2018 midterm 
        elections and called for more research to fully understand the 
        prevalence of such violence across all levels of government, how other 
        identities like race and ethnicity shape experiences of gendered abuse 
        and harassment, and how these experiences affect the emergence of female 
        political candidates in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports women's full and meaningful participation in 
        political life;
            (2) recognizes violence against women in politics as a form 
        of gender-based violence that is specific to women's 
        experiences in the political arena;
            (3) recognizes that violence against women in politics is a 
        global phenomenon and that more research should be conducted to 
        examine the extent and effects of such violence in the United 
        States; and
            (4) urges the United States Government to adopt policies 
        that promote women's political participation and mitigate 
        violence against women in politics, in person and online, in 
        the United States and abroad.
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