[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 3, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20277-20279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8164]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 3, 2012 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 20277]]


                Memorandum of March 30, 2012

                
Establishing a Working Group on the Intersection 
                of HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women and Girls, and 
                Gender-related Health Disparities

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                Throughout our country, the spread of HIV/AIDS has had 
                a devastating impact on many communities. In the United 
                States, there are approximately 1.2 million people 
                living with HIV/AIDS, including more than 290,000 
                women. Women and girls now account for 24 percent of 
                all diagnoses of HIV infection among United States 
                adults and adolescents. The domestic epidemic 
                disproportionately affects women of color, with African 
                Americans and Latinas constituting over 70 percent of 
                new HIV cases in women. The spread of HIV/AIDS is, in 
                and of itself, a primary concern to my Administration. 
                However, gender-based violence and gender-related 
                health disparities cannot be ignored when addressing 
                the domestic public health threat of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS 
                programs often ignore the biological differences and 
                the social, economic, and cultural inequities that make 
                women and girls more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. In our 
                country, women and girls are all too frequently 
                victimized by domestic violence and sexual assault, 
                which can lead to greater risk for acquiring this 
                disease. Teenage girls and young women ages 16-24 face 
                the highest rates of dating violence and sexual 
                assault. In addition, challenges in accessing proper 
                health care can present obstacles to addressing HIV/
                AIDS. Gender-based violence continues to be an 
                underreported, common problem that, if ignored, 
                increases risks for HIV and may prevent women and girls 
                from seeking prevention, treatment, and health 
                services.

                My Administration is committed to improving efforts to 
                understand and address the intersection of HIV/AIDS, 
                violence against women and girls, and gender-related 
                health disparities. To do so, executive departments and 
                agencies (agencies) must build on their current work 
                addressing the intersection of these issues by 
                improving data collection, research, intervention 
                strategies, and training. In order to develop a 
                comprehensive Government-wide approach to these issues 
                that is data-driven, uses effective prevention and care 
                interventions, engages families and communities, 
                supports research and data collection, and mobilizes 
                both public and private sector resources, I direct the 
                following:

                Section 1. Working Group on the Intersection of HIV/
                AIDS, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Gender-
                related Health Disparities. There is established within 
                the Executive Office of the President a Working Group 
                on the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women 
                and Girls, and Gender-related Health Disparities 
                (Working Group), to be co-chaired by the White House 
                Advisor on Violence Against Women and the Director of 
                the Office of National AIDS Policy (Co-Chairs). Within 
                60 days of the date of this memorandum, the Co-Chairs 
                shall convene the first meeting of the Working Group.

                    (a) In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Working Group 
                shall consist of representatives from:

(i) the Department of Justice;

(ii) the Department of the Interior;

(iii) the Department of Health and Human Services;

[[Page 20278]]

(iv) the Department of Education;

(v) the Department of Homeland Security;

(vi) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

(vii) the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and

(viii) the Office of Management and Budget.

                    (b) The Working Group shall consult with the 
                Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, as 
                appropriate.
                    (c) The Department of State, the United States 
                Agency for International Development, and the 
                President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Gender 
                Technical Working Group shall act in an advisory 
                capacity to the Working Group, providing information on 
                lessons learned and evidence-based best practices based 
                on their global experience addressing issues involving 
                the intersection between HIV/AIDS and violence against 
                women.

                Sec. 2. Mission and Functions of the Working Group. (a) 
                The Working Group shall coordinate agency efforts to 
                address issues involving the intersection of HIV/AIDS, 
                violence against women and girls, and gender-related 
                health disparities. Such efforts shall include, but not 
                be limited to:

(i) increasing government and public awareness of the need to address the 
intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls, and gender-
related health disparities, including sexual and reproductive health and 
access to health care;

(ii) sharing best practices, including demonstration projects and 
international work by agencies, as well as successful gender-specific 
strategies aimed at addressing risks that influence women's and girls' 
vulnerability to HIV infection and violence;

(iii) integrating sexual and reproductive health services, gender-based 
violence services, and HIV/AIDS services, where research demonstrates that 
doing so will result in improved and sustained health outcomes;

(iv) emphasizing evidence-based prevention activities that engage men and 
boys and highlight their role in the prevention of violence against women 
and HIV/AIDS infection;

(v) facilitating opportunities for partnerships among diverse organizations 
from the violence against women and girls, HIV/AIDS, and women's health 
communities to address the intersection of these issues;

(vi) ensuring that the needs of vulnerable and underserved groups are 
considered in any efforts to address issues involving the intersection of 
HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls, and gender-related health 
disparities;

(vii) promoting research to better understand the intersection of the 
biological, behavioral, and social sciences bases for the relationship 
between increased HIV/AIDS risk, domestic violence, and gender-related 
health disparities; and

(viii) prioritizing, as appropriate, the efforts described in paragraphs 
(a)(i)-(vii) of this section with respect to women and girls of color, who 
represent the majority of females living with and at risk for HIV infection 
in the United States.

                    (b) The Working Group shall annually provide the 
                President recommendations for updating the National 
                HIV/AIDS Strategy. In addition, the Working Group shall 
                provide information on:

(i) coordinated actions taken by the Working Group to meet its objectives 
and identify areas where the Federal Government has achieved integration 
and coordination in addressing the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence 
against women and girls, and gender-related health disparities;

(ii) alternative means of making available gender-sensitive health care for 
women and girls through the integration of HIV/AIDS prevention and

[[Page 20279]]

care services with intimate partner violence prevention and counseling as 
well as mental health and trauma services;

(iii) specific, evidence-based goals for addressing HIV among women, 
including HIV-related disparities among women of color, to inform the 
National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Plan (for its biannual review);

(iv) research and data collection needs regarding HIV/AIDS, violence 
against women and girls, and gender-related health disparities to help 
develop more comprehensive data and targeted research (disaggregated by 
sex, gender, and gender identity, where practicable); and

(v) existing partnerships and potential areas of collaboration with other 
public or nongovernmental actors, taking into consideration the types of 
implementation or research objectives that other public or nongovernmental 
actors may be particularly well-situated to accomplish.

                Sec. 3. Outreach. Consistent with the objectives of 
                this memorandum and applicable law, the Working Group, 
                in addition to regular meetings, shall conduct outreach 
                with representatives of private and nonprofit 
                organizations, State, tribal, and local government 
                agencies, elected officials, and other interested 
                persons to assist the Working Group in developing a 
                detailed set of recommendations.

                Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) The heads of agencies 
                shall assist and provide information to the Working 
                Group, consistent with applicable law, as may be 
                necessary to carry out the functions of the Working 
                Group. Each agency and office shall bear its own 
                expense for carrying out activities related to the 
                Working Group.

                    (b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed 
                to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the 
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (e) The Secretary of Health and Human Services is 
                authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in 
                the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Washington, March 30, 2012

[FR Doc. 2012-8164
Filed 4-2-12; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4150-42-P