About the IVAWA of 2010

In 2010, one-third of the House and the Senate co-sponsored the International Violence Against Women Act and in the last weeks of Congress’s lame duck session the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to pass the bill. Unfortunately, just as our momentum was heating up, the clock ran out on the 111th Congress.

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), which was introduced in the House and the Senate during the 111th Congress, was sponsored by Congressman Delahunt (D-MA), Congressman Poe (R-TX), and Congresswoman Schakowsky (D-IL) with other members and Senator Kerry (D-MA), Senator Snowe (R-ME), Senator Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Collins (R-ME) with other Senators. It was developed by lead Congressional sponsors in conjunction with Women Thrive Worldwide, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), and the help of organizational partners. It is the result of extensive research on what works: it was drafted in consultation with more than 150 groups including U.S.-based NGOs, U.N. agencies and 40 women’s groups across the globe. Finally, it is the centerpiece of a nation-wide campaign led by Women Thrive Worldwide, AIUSA, and FVPF to end violence against women worldwide.

The IVAWA, if passed, would for the first time comprehensively incorporate solutions into all U.S. foreign assistance programs - solutions such as promoting women's economic opportunity, addressing violence against girls in school, and working to change public attitudes. Among other things, the IVAWA would make ending violence against women a diplomatic priority for the first time in U.S. history. It would require the U.S. government to respond to critical outbreaks of gender-based violence in armed conflict - such as the mass rapes now occuring in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti- in a timely manner. And by investing in local women's organizations overseas that are succesfully working to reduce violence in their communities, the IVAWA would have a huge impact on reducing poverty - empowering millions of women in poor countries to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty.

Women Thrive and the IVAWA coalition remain committed to finding the best strategy to end violence against women and girls around the world. We are currently working with our Congressional partners to reintroduce this critical legislation.

Read Nicholas Kristof's endorsement of the International Violence Against Women's Act in the New York Times.