[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 25 (Friday, March 8, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1708-S1709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 223--DESIGNATING MARCH 8, 2002, AS ``INTERNATIONAL 
                             WOMEN'S DAY''

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. 
Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
Feingold, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Breaux, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Schumer, 
Mr. Specter, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Snowe, Mrs. 
Feinstein, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Bayh, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Lincoln, 
Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Murkowski, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Burns, 
and Mr. Bingaman) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to.

                              S. Res. 223

       Whereas all over the world women are contributing to the 
     growth of economies, participating in the world of diplomacy 
     and politics, and improving the quality of the lives of their 
     families, communities, and nations;
       Whereas discrimination continues to deny women full 
     political and economic equality and is often the basis for 
     violations of women's basic human rights;
       Whereas worldwide the lives and health of women and girls 
     continue to be endangered by violence that is directed at 
     them simply because they are women;
       Whereas worldwide violence against women includes rape, 
     genital mutilation, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating 
     violence, honor killings, sexual trafficking in women, dowry-
     related violence, female infanticide, sex selection abortion, 
     forced pregnancy, forced sterilization and forced abortion;
       Whereas worldwide at least 1 in 3 females has been beaten 
     or sexually abused in her lifetime;
       Whereas 1 in 6 women in the United States has experienced 
     an attempted or completed sexual assault;
       Whereas somewhere in the United States, a woman is 
     battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds;
       Whereas somewhere in the United States, a woman is raped 
     every 90 seconds;
       Whereas it is estimated that 1 in 5 adolescent girls in the 
     United States becomes a victim of physical or sexual abuse, 
     or both, in a dating relationship;
       Whereas only 17 countries consider marital rape to be a 
     criminal offense;
       Whereas worldwide, women account for almost half of all 
     cases of HIV/AIDS, approximately 32,400,000, and in countries 
     with high HIV prevalence, young women are at a higher risk 
     than young men of contracting HIV;
       Whereas worldwide sexual violence, including marital rape, 
     has been denounced as a major cause of the rapid spread of 
     HIV/AIDS among women;
       Whereas \2/3\ of the world's 876,000,000 individuals who 
     are illiterate are women;
       Whereas of the 125,000,000 school-aged children not in 
     school all over the world, \2/3\ are girls;
       Whereas worldwide girls are less likely to complete school 
     than boys;
       Whereas in the United States, in the 3 decades since 1971, 
     the educational attainment rates of females has increased 
     faster than those of males, and by the year 2000, not only 
     did females have higher rates of completing high school and 
     some college, but there were no differences in the 
     percentages of males and females with a bachelor's degree or 
     higher;
       Whereas it is estimated that women and their children make 
     up more than 70 percent of the 1,300,000,000 poorest people 
     in the world;
       Whereas worldwide, women remain vastly underrepresented in 
     national and local assemblies, accounting for less than 10 
     percent of the seats in parliament, on average (except for 
     East Asia where the figure is approximately 18 to 19 
     percent), and in no developing region do women hold more than 
     8 percent of the ministerial positions;

[[Page S1709]]

       Whereas illegal trafficking worldwide for forced labor, 
     domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation involves between 
     1,000,000 and 2,000,000 women and children each year, of whom 
     50,000 are transported to the United States;
       Whereas worldwide women still earn less, own less property, 
     and have less access to education, employment, and health 
     care than do men;
       Whereas March 8 has become known as International Women's 
     Day for the last century, and is a day on which people, often 
     divided by ethnicity, language, culture, and income, come 
     together to celebrate a common struggle for women`s equality, 
     justice, and peace;
       Whereas the dedication and successes of those working all 
     over the world to end violence against women and girls and 
     fighting for equality should be recognized; and
       Whereas the people of the United States should be 
     encouraged to participate in International Women's Day: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates March 8, 2002, as International Women's Day;
       (2) reaffirms its commitment--
       (A) to ending discrimination and violence against women;
       (B) to ensuring the safety and welfare of women; and
       (C) to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic rights of 
     women both in the United States and in the world; and
       (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to observe 
     ``International Women's Day'' with appropriate programs and 
     activities.

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