U.S. GBV Strategy 2022.pdf

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Introduction

The United States believes that preventing and responding to gender-based violence around the world is a matter of human rights, justice, equity, and equality. In 2012, the U.S. Congress first requested a “multi-year strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls,” which led to the development of the first U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based

Violence Globally. This strategy, and the subsequent update in 2016, elevated the human rights of women and girls globally as a U.S. national security, diplomatic, and foreign assistance priority.

Ten years later, our commitment to this issue remains steadfast and our knowledge of best and promising practices has grown. Nonetheless, gender-based violence remains all too common around the world, including in the United States.

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United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally 2022

The U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally elevates the human rights of women and girls globally as a U.S. national security, diplomatic, and foreign assistance priority.

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The global context in which we find ourselves today is different from a decade ago. New challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence around the world. At the same time, the growing role of technology in daily life has led women, girl, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex

(LGBTQI+) human rights defenders to face targeted violence. Climate-related migration and displacement has led to exacerbated risks of gender-based violence, and conflict-related sexual violence remains persistently high. As women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals around the world face new risks, we need to reassess our policy and diplomatic and programmatic strategies to address these challenges. At the same time, many challenges identified in the 2012 version of this strategy continue to require attention. The prevalence of gender-based violence remains high, justice and healing for survivors and accountability for perpetrators are often lacking, and the grassroots organizations working to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in their communities too often lack sufficient funding to do so.

With this third iteration of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence

Globally, we seek to: advance equity and inclusivity and address the factors that increase the risks of gender-based violence and undermine access to services and safety, particularly for the most marginalized groups; support comprehensive approaches for addressing gender-based violence priorities across a range of thematic areas; and strengthen the commitment and work of the U.S. government to scale what works, enhance our partnerships, and improve our capacity to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

The Strategic Challenge

DEFINING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Gender-Based Violence is any harmful threat or act directed at an individual or group based on actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and/or lack of adherence to varying socially constructed norms around masculinity and femininity. Although individuals of all gender identities may experience gender-based

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Drivers and Contexts

Gender-based violence is a human rights abuse, a form of discrimination, a manifestation of unequal power, and a public health crisis in the United States and globally. Gender-based violence is rooted in structural gender inequalities, patriarchy, and power imbalances. It has direct and indirect costs to individuals; families; communities; economies; global public health;

development; and human, national, and regional security. Gender-based violence is a systemic global problem: it occurs in every country and level of society. It happens in public and private settings, including the home, work environments, transit, educational settings, and schools;

criminal justice settings, including correctional facilities; the military and security sector; and digital and online spaces. Members of some populations face overlapping forms of discrimination that put them at an even higher risk of experiencing gender-based violence, including Indigenous peoples; historically marginalized racial and ethnic populations; religious minority populations; LGBTQI+ persons; persons with disabilities; older persons and widows;

children and youth; low-wage and informal sector workers; migrants, refugees, and internally displaced peoples; and persons in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Types of Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence is characterized by the use or threat of physical, psychological, sexual, economic, legal, political, social, and other forms of control, coercion, and/or violence. It can occur across the life course and is perpetrated by a diverse array of actors, including intimate partners; family members; persons in positions of power, authority, or trust; friends;

acquaintances; or strangers. Types of gender-based violence include: child, early, and forced marriage; child sexual abuse; female genital mutilation/cutting; gender-related killing of women and girls, including “femicide” and female infanticide; so-called “honor”-based violence, including acid attacks and killings; some forms of human trafficking; intimate partner violence, including domestic and dating violence; reproductive coercion, including forced sterilization; sexual exploitation and abuse; sexual harassment; stalking; all forms of sexual violence, including sexual coercion, conflict-related sexual violence, rape (including marital rape; so-called “corrective” rape related to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression; and rape as a

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SETTING THE SCENE

Promoting gender equity and equality is a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy and our commitment to advancing human rights globally. The advancement of women and girls in particular is a moral imperative and is in the strategic national interest of the United States and our global partners. This prioritization increases the likelihood that we will be effective stewards in achieving international peace, economic prosperity, stability, and sustainable development.

The prevalence of gender-based-violence around the world remains one of the primary barriers to achieving these goals.

Language

Historically, diplomatic activities, programming, and research on gender-based violence have focused largely on women and girls. Indeed, prevalence data consistently indicates that women and girls around the world experience disproportionately high rates of gender-based violence throughout the life course. Women and girls are not equally represented or included in political processes and other foreign policy and development objectives. Additionally, emerging knowledge suggests that members of additional groups or sub-groups may also be at acute risk of experiencing gender-based violence. We recognize that gender-based violence affects people of all genders: women and girls, including transgender women and girls; gender nonbinary and gender nonconforming people; as well as men and boys.

Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence

The global prevalence of gender-based violence is vast, and estimates of global gender-based violence widely acknowledge a systematic underreporting. The World Health Organization

(WHO) estimates that approximately 1 in 3 women worldwide has been subjected to intimate partner violence and/or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime . Over 650 million women alive today were married before the age of 18, and every year an additional 12 million girls are married before their 18th birthday . At least 200 million women and girls in the world today have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting across 30 different countries , including in the

United States . Global prevalence data is limited for other types of gender-based violence, such as forced sterilization, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, or gender-based violence against members of specifically targeted groups, such as LGBTQI+ persons. However, growing research indicates that these forms of gender-based violence are also pervasive and harmful in their impacts.

Consequences of Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence exists in the Global North and the Global South; in high-, middle-, and low-income countries; and across different religions, ethnicities, and social classes. Research shows that countries with higher rates of gender-based violence suffer more frequently from conflict, instability, lack of adherence to the rule of law, low educational attainment, economic underdevelopment, and health crises, among other challenges. In 2016, the global cost of violence against women was estimated at 2% of global GDP, or $1.5 trillion . Unfortunately, no groups are immune to this scourge. Moreover, gender-based violence negatively impacts even those individuals who are not immediately targeted, including children, other family members, and broader communities, and its impacts reverberate over time, causing intergenerational trauma and related adverse consequences. It creates constraints and chilling effects for women, girls, and gender non-conforming individuals, hindering their full inclusion in society, including private, civic, market, and digital spheres.

Gender-based violence reflects and reinforces structural inequalities at global, regional, national, and local levels. Members of marginalized populations , especially women and girls, are disproportionately targeted with gender-based violence. In turn, other forms of marginalization are exacerbated by gender-based violence, in part due to negative physical and mental health consequences; disrupted education; lost wages and barriers to advancement in formal and informal economies; familial or community ostracization; barriers to accessing services; and lack of access to justice.

Impunity for perpetrators of gender-based violence remains all too common. In many contexts, gender-based violence is normalized and seen as an intractable part of life. Moreover, social institutions including families, workplaces, the digital arena, public spaces, educational settings, and religious institutions can create the conditions in which acts of gender-based violence are either tolerated or sanctioned. Despite these formidable challenges, over the last several decades the global community and grassroots advocates have advanced efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence so that all people can live peaceful lives free from such violence. The United States continues to be a key partner in advancing these efforts.

Current Context

In the decade since the first U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally was released, there have been profound changes in the world. The #MeToo movement generated a renewed global recognition of how widespread and normalized gender-based violence is in the lives of women, girls, and gender non-conforming individuals globally. Brave survivors, journalists, and media outlets have helped foster a reckoning within the global community about gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by aid workers within both humanitarian and development contexts. Furthermore, a renewed global recognition of the enduring impacts of racism and colonialism has reinvigorated public discussions about violence and ongoing discrimination against members of racial and ethnic minority communities, including some by law enforcement agencies, which undermines access to justice for survivors from these communities. Even as public awareness of gender-based violence has increased, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing barriers and forms of inequality that many people around the world face because of their gender, created conditions that increase the risk of gender-based violence for members of many populations, and simultaneously decreased access to lifesaving response services. The second-order impacts of this global shock will be felt for years to come. Nations and communities are also facing increasing violent conflicts, humanitarian crises, food security crises, and natural disasters that exacerbate gender inequalities and gender-based violence risks, often in connection with climate change. Finally, many nations are also facing increasing levels of political polarization and extremism, authoritarianism, and related rollbacks of rights for women, LGBTQI+ persons, and other marginalized communities. These and other trends, including online harassment, abuse, and disinformation (including gendered disinformation) circulating in the digital sphere, shrink the space for civic and political discourse and participation. Together and apart, these conditions

The United States continues to advance efforts domestically to prevent and address gender-based violence. While progress has been made after more than four decades of federal and state legislation and investments, especially in efforts to address sexual violence and intimate partner violence, our own rates of gender-based violence remain high. Thus, we recognize that our global anti-violence efforts must work in tandem with those on the domestic front. The

United States will soon release the first U.S. National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

These policies reflect our ongoing commitment to advance this work across both U.S. foreign and domestic policy. These policies build on the key priorities established in the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality and outline a plan to fully integrate gender-based violence throughout foreign policy, development, and national security decision-making.

BUILDING ON AN EXISTING FOUNDATION

Policy Framework

Over the past three decades, the United States has substantially increased its diplomatic focus on foreign assistance programming directed toward addressing gender-based violence. This whole-of-government mobilization builds on the legacies of women’s grassroots movements, LGBTQI+ advocates, and anti-violence activism. In addition to the momentum for women’s human rights that was generated with the passage of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and at the 1995 Beijing World

Conference on Women, several other contemporary events have sparked a broader recognition of the importance of addressing gender-based violence. The technical capacity of civil society organizations has improved substantially, yielding a more knowledgeable and dynamic global field of gender-based violence prevention and response. In addition, during the 1990s recognition grew of the prevalence and role of rape in mass atrocities and war, including in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and of the importance of holding those responsible for sexual violence accountable. Today, it is recognized that gender-based violence, including sexual violence, may constitute an atrocity crime, and that increases in gender-based violence can serve as early warning indicators of mass atrocities and state fragility that the United States has a

(UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security specifically calls for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence, including in emergency and humanitarian situations. Additional

UNSCRs have laid the groundwork for addressing gender-based violence, particularly in conflict and post-conflict settings.

With that foundation, and since our initial 2012 strategy, the United States has reiterated its commitment to gender equity and equality as part of its foreign policy and assistance efforts. Our current efforts are guided by a number of legal frameworks and policies, including the U.S.

National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality; the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 and the U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security of 2019; the Elie Wiesel Genocide and

Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 and the U.S. Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to

Atrocities of 2022; the Global Fragility Act of 2019 and the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and

Promote Stability of 2020; the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act of

2018; Executive Order 14020 on Gender Equity and Equality; and the Presidential Memorandum to Promote Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. A full list of policies guiding our work can be found in Annex B

Programmatic Interventions

U.S. efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence have evolved as knowledge, technical capacity, partnerships, and internal processes have been strengthened. Points of intervention have expanded from a primary focus on criminal justice responses and service provisions for survivors, to more comprehensive efforts that also focus on prevention and education, social norms change, health and social services, economic security, access to housing assistance, and legal reform and accountability mechanisms. Engaging men and boys in gender-based violence prevention alongside women, girls, and gender non-conforming community advocates has also emerged as an important priority. The value of locally led development and the amplification of diverse community voices are both recognized as integral components of success. Finally, another pivotal development has been the recognition of the importance of integrating gender-based violence policy and programming across U.S. foreign policy priorities in addition to standalone efforts. The relationship between, for instance, gender-based violence and economic growth, education, or women’s political participation is now well-documented.

Within this evolution, gender-based violence has also emerged as a standalone field that requires technical expertise and targeted staffing.

Research and Data

The evidence base for understanding the scope, scale, and consequences of gender-based violence has improved over the past three decades. Many countries around the world have invested in collecting more robust national data on gender-based violence. In addition, the

United States has invested in collecting population-level data on the prevalence of violence globally, in particular intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and increasingly, violence against children and youth. Complementing prevalence surveys, the U.S. government has also supported research to gather insights into the lived experiences of gender-based violence survivors to help demonstrate the global magnitude and root causes of the problem. Moving forward, it is crucial that we continue to reduce barriers for survivors to make disclosures of violence in both formal and informal contexts. It is also crucial to ensure that accurate, comprehensive, and recent data are collected in all countries and regions in a confidential and trauma-informed manner.

Global Consultation Process

The first step in the review and update process for the 2022 update of the U.S. Strategy to

Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally was a six-month period of consultations with key stakeholders from around the world. Virtual consultations were organized with representatives from a variety of sectors, organizations, and geographic locations. Consultations were hosted both through external partners and with internal contractors and U.S. government teams. Topics included the intersections of gender-based violence and conflict, climate, health, economic security, and technology, as well as population-specific considerations, such as those related to race and ethnicity, girls and youth, men and boys, LGBTQI+ persons, and persons with disabilities. Consultations included 450+ participants representing 200+ organizations. They included representatives from civil society, bilateral and multilateral partners, faith networks, the private sector, academia, implementing partners, and federal departments and agencies. Issues discussed at the consultations included: a) opportunities for innovation; b) macro-level trends that shape the prevalence and patterns of gender-based violence globally; c) impacts of the

COVID-19 pandemic on individual experiences of gender-based violence; d) recommendations on

THE VISION

The ultimate vision of this strategy is to build a future free from gender-based violence for all people.

To truly understand and eliminate gender-based violence around the world, we must recognize and address the intersecting forms of discrimination, marginalization, and oppression that too many individuals and communities still face. Acts of gender-based violence are rooted in social identity, status, and power. At its core, gender-based violence is an abuse of power and is a reflection and manifestation of power imbalances across different groups of people, especially related to sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sex characteristics; race and ethnicity; age; socioeconomic status; nationality; disability; religion; and citizenship or refugee status. The importance of moving beyond engaging survivors and their communities in perfunctory or paternalistic ways has become clearer than ever before. We must strive for meaningful partnerships; engage in consistent and comprehensive consultations locally, regionally, and globally; and serve as a leader on the provision of financial and political support for organizations and networks, including those representing different marginalized and disadvantaged populations. These advocates and organizations are the heart of this work, and we must support them as they lead the way toward change.

THEORY OF CHANGE

If gender-based violence prevention and response is integrated across U.S. government international programs, policies, and diplomatic engagements; is focused on empowering and respecting all survivors, including those from marginalized populations; and increases accountability to survivors’ needs, then gender-based violence will decrease, thereby increasing security, stability, and well-being for individuals, families, and communities worldwide.

The successful implementation of this theory of change must be done in partnership with survivors, survivor-centered organizations, civil society, faith leaders and institutions, local and national governments, the private sector, academic institutions, bilateral partners, and

address socioeconomic and political systems that ignore, perpetuate, or enable gender-based violence; and will depend on the successful implementation of our guiding principles and each pillar of this strategy.

Guiding Principles to Our Approach

The following principles will guide our approach as the U.S. government to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally.

Human Rights-Informed: We will implement an approach that respects and promotes human rights and that recognizes gender-based violence as a human rights abuse. We will include the prevention of and response to gender-based violence as part of our human rights policy priorities. We will incorporate international human rights considerations into policies, programming, services, and processes related to gender-based violence prevention and response. This approach reflects values of respect, compassion, and human dignity for all and prioritizes transparency, accountability, empowerment, consultations, and participation.

Intersectional: In line with the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, this strategy aims to address intersecting forms of discrimination to advance equity and equality. We will apply an intersectional framework to identify those who experience the harshest effects of inequality and violence based on interconnected and layered systems of oppression and discrimination (e.g., systems based on factors such as sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics; race and ethnicity; nationality; religion; disability status; age;

socioeconomic status; caste; widowhood; or indigeneity). We recognize how these intersecting forms of oppression and discrimination can increase vulnerability to experiencing gender-based violence, while also increasing barriers to accessing safety, services, and justice. We recognize that a person’s individual experience of violence and oppression is shaped by these intersecting and layered identities, as well as by societal norms.

Inclusive: We will implement an inclusive approach that takes into consideration the historic, structural, sociocultural, and systemic disadvantages and power imbalances members of different groups face, as well as their strength, resilience, and leadership in developing tailored

2/24/23, 2:37 PM United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally 2022 - United States Department of State https://www.state.gov/reports/united-states-strategy-to-prevent-and-respond-to-gender-based-violence-globally-2022/ 12/66 solutions; this will enable their equitable participation in, access to, and benefit from gender-based violence prevention and response efforts, including their participation in policy and program design, implementation, and evaluation. We will promote accessibility of policies, programs, services, and resources for survivors and communities from different country contexts, as well as for those working both within and outside of the direct gender-based violence technical sector.

Life Course Lens: We will address the continuum of gender-based violence across the life course, recognizing that individuals of all ages – from infants to older adults – can experience gender-based violence and that specific types of gender-based violence are more prevalent at different life stages. This includes a recognition of intergenerational trauma, including how experiencing or witnessing violence and exposure to other traumatic events experienced in childhood, known as adverse childhood experiences, can have long-lasting health, social, and economic effects, including increasing a child’s likelihood of being a perpetrator or victim later in life. This also includes a recognition of the cumulative, lifetime impact of gender inequality and trauma on older adults, particularly older women, that exacerbates the risk for continuing to experience gender-based violence in older age. This approach supports policies and programs to improve prevention efforts and provide more comprehensive support for families, children, youth, adults, and older adults who may experience or be impacted by gender-based violence over the course of their lives.

Survivor-Centered: We will promote a survivor-centered approach that is trauma-informed;

non-stigmatizing; empowers the survivor; puts the rights and choices of each survivor at the forefront of all actions; ensures that each survivor is treated with dignity and respect regardless of their real or perceived identity; and includes survivors in policy and programming processes, including in high-level decision-making roles. This approach includes implementing the Do No

Harm principles of safety, respect, confidentiality, and non-discrimination in all our work to take care not to put survivors, program participants, staff, and community members at physical or emotional risk. By putting the survivor at the center of our work, this approach promotes their recovery and healing, reduces the risk of further harm and revictimization, and reinforces their agency and self-determination. Practicing a survivor-centered approach means establishing a relationship with the survivor that promotes their emotional and physical safety, builds trust, and helps them restore some control over their life. A survivor-centered approach also focuses on accessibility and adaptability of appropriate, inclusive, and high-quality prevention and response services that include different options for safety and support (e.g., including for survivors who

Locally Led: We will advance partnerships with other governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and the private sector to collectively work toward a world free from gender-based violence. Our partnership approach acknowledges that gender-based violence is an issue that every country in the world faces, including our own, and that local individuals and communities who dedicate their careers and lives to preventing and responding to gender-based violence, including survivors, are the experts on how to prevent and respond to it in their own communities. We will seek to build partnerships with local partners, individuals, and communities, including faith communities, and enable them to take the lead as experts in gender-based violence prevention and response-related efforts in their countries and communities by providing them with resources and tools. We will work with local partners as a means of ensuring individuals, survivors, families, schools, communities, and national-level governments are all involved in and accountable for gender-based violence prevention and response, including by increasing political will, resource allocation, and prioritization. Advancing partnerships is key to the sustainability of our approach, enhances the efficacy of our work, and embodies our democratic ideals.

Pillar I: Focusing on Gender and At-Risk Populations

Pillar I puts our guiding principles, particularly on intersectionality and inclusivity, into action. As the United States’ definition of gender-based violence is inclusive of diverse populations, we are committed to understanding the depth and breadth of how gender-based violence impacts different groups. While there is a substantial evidence base about women and girls’ disproportionate risk of gender-based violence, we are still building the evidence base to better understand the risks facing other marginalized communities. This pillar includes a focus on specific population groups – girls and young women; LGBTQI+ persons; and boys and men – that are often overlooked and under-researched in gender-based violence. Of course, each of these groups is itself diverse and dynamic, and we recognize that other groups also face disproportionate rates of gender-based violence as detailed in Objective 1.4. We highlight these groups because advocates from these communities are important partners in our collective work to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally.

Women and Intimate Partner Violence: Intimate partner violence remains one of the most common forms of gender-based violence, with high percentages of women experiencing intimate partner violence at some point in their lives. In some cases, violence continues in a relationship for many years. Women who experience intimate partner violence are more likely to experience reproductive coercion, whereby their autonomous decision-making related to contraception and pregnancy is restricted. Rates of intimate partner violence increase in the wake of crises, including natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, and conflict. The costs to individual women, their communities, and their nations is shockingly high and has long-lasting, intergenerational effects. While it is crucial to recognize the impact of gender-based violence across a variety of populations, we will also continue to commit foreign assistance and diplomacy to addressing and eliminating violence against all women, inclusive of their diverse identities and across their life course. Research on what works to prevent gender-based violence and to mitigate its harmful effects when it does occur includes involving community leaders in interventions and intergenerational dialogues about violence prevention; engaging men and boys in prevention; increasing women’s economic security; empowering girls and other marginalized groups; and addressing structural drivers, including climate change, crisis, and conflict. It is important to note that the examples discussed in Pillar I are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive, but rather illuminate how gender-based violence impacts members of specific populations.

Objective 1.1: Girls and Young Women

Action: Expand opportunities for all girls and young women to achieve their full potential by addressing their unique needs and risks to gender-based violence and uplifting their voices as leaders, agents of change, and advocates in their communities.

Problem: Gender equality and girls’ empowerment are not achievable without addressing the unique forms of gender-based violence that girls, including adolescent girls and young women, around the world disproportionately face, including sexual violence; sexual exploitation and abuse; intimate partner violence, including dating violence; female genital mutilation/cutting;

child, early, and forced marriage; reproductive coercion; gender-related killing of women and girls; human trafficking; stalking; and technology-facilitated gender-based violence. These forms of gender-based violence, as well as witnessing gender-based violence in the household or

2/24/23, 2:37 PM United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally 2022 - United States Department of State https://www.state.gov/reports/united-states-strategy-to-prevent-and-respond-to-gender-based-violence-globally-2022/ 15/66 community as children, have lifelong health, education, and economic consequences and can fuel an intergenerational cycle of violence. Global health, economic, and climate crises, among other emergencies, disproportionately put girls and young women at further risk of experiencing gender-based violence. School closures, economic strain, and other consequences of these emergencies have contributed to increased reports of child sexual abuse and exploitation;

female genital mutilation/cutting; child, early, and forced marriage; adolescent pregnancy;

online harassment and abuse; and mental distress among youth globally. For example, an estimated 10 million additional girls are at risk of child marriage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All girls and young women need targeted and effective information, respectful and age-appropriate services, opportunities to develop life skills, and safe and supportive environments to address the multitude of challenges they face. Girls and young women in conflict or humanitarian settings; who are members of historically marginalized racial and ethnic or

Indigenous communities; with disabilities; who are migrants or refugees; who are impacted by child, early, or forced marriage; or who identify as LGBTQI+ must be uniquely considered and included in all policy and program design and implementation. Importantly, girls and young women are and can be leaders in their own right, though their voices are too often overlooked in decision-making about policies and programs that affect their daily lives.

Forms of Gender-Based Violence

The below forms of gender-based violence disproportionately, though not exclusively, affect girls and young women.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: All procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

Female genital mutilation/cutting is typically carried out on young girls between infancy and adolescence, and occasionally on adult women. Female genital mutilation/cutting is a human rights abuse and form of gender-based violence.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: Child or early marriage includes any formal marriage or informal union where one or both parties is under the age of 18. Forced marriage is a marriage at any age that occurs without the free and full consent of both parties, including anyone under

Approach: We will employ a comprehensive and empowering approach that emphasizes gender-based violence prevention and addresses harmful social norms; ensures services are comprehensive, welcoming to, and inclusive of adolescents’ needs; and meaningfully engages with diverse girl- and youth-led organizations and networks. Examples of our approach include:

Policy and Diplomacy

Programming

Elevating the voices and needs of girls and young women in multilateral forums and donor working groups, and advancing political commitments that promote the health, well-being, and human rights of all girls and young women. This includes support for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights and age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, and for ending female genital mutilation/cutting and child, early, and forced marriage.

Leveraging public diplomacy opportunities, such as the International Day of the Girl, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, and the International Day of Zero Tolerance on

Female Genital Mutilation, to advance the human rights of girls and young women and to amplify their voices.

Ensuring the integration of gender-based violence prevention and response specific to girls and young women across U.S. government policy efforts, including the U.S. Global Strategy to

Empower Adolescent Girls, U.S. Government Strategy on International Basic Education, United

States Agency for International Development (USAID) Youth in Development Policy, and U.S.

Strategy for Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity.

Continuing to fund global programming that specifically addresses child, early, and forced marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting, including through contributions to the

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint

Program to End Female Genital Mutilation and to UNFPA.

Investing in comprehensive, multi-sectoral programming that addresses the unique vulnerabilities of girls and young women, including their experiences of gender-based violence, through efforts such as the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, 2/24/23, 2:37 PM United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally 2022 - United States Department of State https://www.state.gov/reports/united-states-strategy-to-prevent-and-respond-to-gender-based-violence-globally-2022/ 17/66

OBJECTIVE 1.2: LGBTQI+ PERSONS

Action: Increase the inclusion of LGBTQI+ persons, advance recognition of LGBTQI+ human rights, and create conditions in which all LGBTQI+ individuals can live free from violence, stigma, harassment, discrimination, marginalization, and criminalization.

Problem: Gender-based violence can occur within LGBTQI+ populations or against members of

LGBTQI+ populations. This violence is often rooted in or linked to discrimination against those who do not conform with traditional social expectations. LGBTQI+ persons face a disproportionate risk of gender-based violence, as well as violence, stigma, harassment, discrimination, marginalization, and criminalization based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, or some combination thereof. Non-LGBTQI+ persons may also experience gender-based violence if they are perceived by others to be LGBTQI+. These harms, including gender-based violence as well as other forms of violence against LGBTQI+ persons, result in a variety of adverse outcomes, including familial estrangement, exclusion from educational and economic opportunities, legal and political disenfranchisement, and poor physical and mental health and psychosocial outcomes. LGBTQI+ persons can be harmed by various forms of gender-based violence, including dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, or family violence, and often experience significant barriers to safety and justice. These harms may be exacerbated because LGBTQI+ survivors may not be believed, and the general social stigma they experience may reduce viable exit pathways from harmful situations. LGBTQI+ survivors may face additional barriers to accessing legal, health, and mental health and psychosocial support services.

Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) Partnership through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for

AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Prioritizing the ethical and systematic collection of age- and sex-disaggregated data in our programs, including growing efforts to support data collection on online forms of violence and exploitation; supporting the Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) and

Demographic and Health Surveys; and centering the lived experiences of all girls and young women.

Strengthening the capacity of our partners to provide adolescent-friendly and girl-friendly gender-based violence and health services that are non-judgmental, non-stigmatizing, and survivor-centered

Although many research gaps remain about how gender-based violence and other forms of targeted violence impact LGBTQI+ persons, there are reports of: intimate partner violence;

gender-related killings; hate crimes and hate speech; extrajudicial killings and so-called “honor” killings; so-called “corrective rape”; forced marriage; mutilation of genitalia of intersex infants and adolescents; so-called “conversion therapy” practices; and blackmail, extortion, and other forms of intimidation to “out” LGBTQI+ persons without consent. These and other acts of gender-based violence may also take place in online spaces or be facilitated by technologies. Collectively, such acts of violence against LGBTQI+ persons lead to societal exclusion and oppression.

Historically, most research on and advocacy for addressing gender-based violence has focused on women and girls, given the high global prevalence of violence against women and girls and the patriarchal roots of such violence. There has been less focus to date on those who are also targeted with violence based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, or some combination thereof. Globally, LGBTQI+ persons frequently experience high levels of gender-based violence compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.

Approach: We will work to ensure that LGBTQI+ persons are able to achieve their greatest potential and live lives free from gender-based violence, and that the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons are not violated or abused. We will increase research, diplomatic efforts, and programmatic investments to prevent and respond to forms of gender-based violence that disproportionately affect LGBTQI+ persons. We will work to decrease silos that have historically maintained boundaries between LGBTQI+ advocacy and gender-based violence prevention and response efforts. Examples of our approach include:

Policy and Diplomacy

Advancing recognition of the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in multilateral forums and as part of our multi-stakeholder bilateral relationships, including supporting the mandate of the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity as well as the continued renewal of the mandate.

Amplifying and respecting the voices of LGBTQI+ persons by leveraging public diplomacy opportunities like Women’s History Month; International Transgender Day of Visibility;

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia; Pride Month; LGBTQI+

History Month; 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence; Intersex Awareness Day;

Programming and Transgender Day of Remembrance to raise awareness of the U.S.

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