U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesperson
August 10, 2012
Release of First United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally
The United States released the first-ever U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally today, and President Obama signed an accompanying Executive Order directing all relevant agencies to implement the Strategy. The Strategy advances the Department of State’s efforts to raise the status of women and girls around the world and underscores the commitment to preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Such violence undermines not only the safety, dignity, and human rights of the millions of individuals who experience it, but also threatens public health, economic stability, and security.
To mark the release, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, USAID Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg, and other senior Administration officials met today with civil society representatives at the White House to discuss the strategy and answer questions.
The Strategy outlines four key objectives: to increase coordination of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts among U.S. government agencies and with other stakeholders; to enhance integration of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts into existing U.S. government work; to improve collection, analysis, and use of data and research to enhance gender-based violence prevention and response efforts; and to enhance or expand U.S. government programming that addresses gender-based violence. At Congress’s request, the Strategy was drafted by the Department of State, USAID, and other relevant U.S. agencies.
The Executive Order is available here. A fact sheet from the White House is available here.