[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5584
To support foreign assistance programs and diplomatic initiatives to
counter violence in the Western Hemisphere.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 18 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support foreign assistance programs and diplomatic initiatives to
counter violence in the Western Hemisphere.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Countering
Violence in the Western Hemisphere Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Including gender-based violence in Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices.
Sec. 4. Engagement with women-led local organizations.
Sec. 5. Economic empowerment programming.
Sec. 6. Training local law enforcement.
Sec. 7. Contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence
against Women.
Sec. 8. Educational exchange programming.
Sec. 9. Report on violence as a driver of migration and an indicator of
foreign influence.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States
Agency for International Development.
(3) Violence against women and children.--The term
``violence against women and children'' means any harmful
threat or act directed at an individual or group based on
actual or perceived biological sex, gender identity or
expression, sexual orientation, or a lack of adherence to
varying socially-constructed norms around masculinity and
femininity.
SEC. 3. INCLUDING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN
RIGHTS PRACTICES.
Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151n(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (11)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the
end; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (13)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``Wherever'' and inserting ``wherever''; and
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(14) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and
extent of gender-based violence.''.
SEC. 4. ENGAGEMENT WITH WOMEN-LED LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) In General.--USAID shall--
(1) within its model of locally led development, engage
partner governments in the Western Hemisphere to develop and
implement programming to increase direct local funding to
women-led or women-focused nonprofit organizations and local
partners working--
(A) to counter violence against women and children
within their respective communities;
(B) to empower victims of violence against women
and children; and
(C) to support the economic empowerment, financial
independence, and security of women; and
(2) simplify and increase access to resources for local
partners working to advance efforts to prevent and address
violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere.
(b) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, USAID shall brief appropriate congressional
committees regarding its proposed plans to implement subsection (a).
(c) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of USAID shall submit a
strategy to the appropriate congressional committees that incorporates
specific, measurable benchmarks to achieve the purposes described in
subsection (a).
(d) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following
5 years, the Administrator of USAID shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a written description of the progress made by
USAID towards achieving the benchmarks included in the strategy
submitted pursuant to subsection (c).
SEC. 5. ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMMING.
The Administrator of USAID shall expand and strengthen the
implementation of savings groups in the Western Hemisphere by including
additional partner countries and integrating violence against women and
children prevention and response activities, such as household
dialogues.
SEC. 6. TRAINING LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Collaboration.--The Department of State and USAID shall
collaborate with local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to
conduct training to report, prevent, investigate, and prosecute
instances of gender-based violence in the Western Hemisphere.
(b) Gender-based Violence Prevention Training Program.--The
Secretary of State shall work with the International Law Enforcement
Academy San Salvador (ILEA San Salvador) and the Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to develop and
implement a training program for foreign law enforcement officers
designed to help prevent, investigate, prosecute, and report instances
of gender-based violence.
(c) Western Hemisphere Gender-based Violence Law Enforcement
Engagement Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with
the USAID Administrator, shall develop and submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a strategy--
(1) to support law enforcement and criminal justice
agencies in reporting, preventing, investigating, and
prosecuting instances of gender-based violence in the Western
Hemisphere; and
(2) to increase the focuses of the Department of State and
USAID on--
(A) rights-based, gender-responsive, and trauma-
informed training and education on gender-based
violence prevention and investigation;
(B) proactive engagement with civil society
organizations, academia, and international supporting
actors for an informed response to gender-based
violence; and
(C) the standardization of the investigation
processes for cases of gender-based violence that take
a victim and survivor-centered and rights-based
approach.
SEC. 7. CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS TRUST FUND TO END VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN.
Of the amounts made available under the heading ``International
Organizations and Programs'' for fiscal year 2025 and for each
subsequent fiscal year, $2,000,000 shall be made available annually for
the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.
SEC. 8. EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMMING.
(a) Research Partnerships and Educational Exchange Opportunities.--
The Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator shall strengthen and
expand research partnerships and educational exchange opportunities for
scholars, researchers, and students through engagement with
nongovernmental organizations and private sector institutions that work
on violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere.
(b) Fulbright Scholars.--The Assistant Secretary of State for
Educational and Cultural Affairs shall encourage the participation in
the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program of researchers,
scholars, and students who are focused on researching and addressing
the root causes of violence against women and children in the Western
Hemisphere.
(c) Global Forums.--The Ambassador-at-Large for the Office of
Global Women's Issues shall encourage the involvement of scholars from
the Western Hemisphere focusing on researching violence against women
and children in global forums and sessions to share their findings and
to strengthen the United States' response to violence against women and
children in the Western Hemisphere.
SEC. 9. REPORT ON VIOLENCE AS A DRIVER OF MIGRATION AND AN INDICATOR OF
FOREIGN INFLUENCE.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with the USAID
Administrator, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that--
(1) examines the role of violence against women and
children in the Western Hemisphere as a driver of irregular
migration;
(2) identifies gaps in the United States' strategy for
addressing the root causes of migration in Central America to
counter violence against women and children;
(3) identifies which foreign governments are involved in
countering or promoting violence against women and children;
(4) examines ways in which the United States and its allies
can continue as the leading partner in the region on countering
violence against women and children; and
(5) contains a regional analysis of the root causes of
violence against women and children and its impact on irregular
migration, particular migration originating from Central
America and the Andean region.
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