New bill would require countries getting U.S. aid to protect its women

An Indiana senator is one of the authors of a bill that could lead to groundbreaking bi-partisan legislation against gender-based violence abroad, a move that one IU criminal justice professor said is “long overdue.” \nSen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., have pioneered a bill that for the first time demonstrates United States’ legislative efforts to use foreign assistance programs to combat gender-based violence in other countries. The International Violence Against Women Act was introduced last month by two members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, though no hearing has been set for the bill yet. \nThe bill will require countries accepting American aid to take measures against gender-based violence. Proposed plans within the bill also includes the creation of a central Office for Women’s Global Initiatives, which would coordinate the United States’ policies, programs and resources that deal with women’s issues, according to a joint press release from Biden and Lugar. It would also help provide integration training for humanitarian assistance programs to try and change attitudes that condone violence against women and girls. \nThe United States passed its own Violence Against Women Act in 1994. Veronica Herrera, an assistant professor in IU’s Criminal Justice department who specializes in the study of violence against women, said it’s about time the U.S. makes an effort to end violence against women globally. \n“It definitely is long overdue,” Herrera said. “Coming from a country of power, it sends a message that this is not acceptable behavior. We are taking a stand that this is not acceptable and that this is a human rights violation.” \nCathi Crabtree, who sits on Bloomington’s Commission on the Status of Women, said she thinks the bill is promising, and would be the right step in forcing responsibility on some nations that are currently not answering to anyone about how women are being treated in those countries. \n“I would hope it would impact our dealings with some of these countries and that we would hold them accountable in enforcing the provisions of the bill,” Crabtree said. \nHowever, as of right now no hearing has been scheduled for the bill. \n“As Chairman, Sen. Biden sets the agenda for the committee and for the moment there has been no hearing scheduled or change in status since introduction,” said Emily Krueger, deputy press secretary for Lugar in an e-mail. “The bill is a priority for Sen. Biden though, and his office is taking the lead on it.”\nAccording to a joint press release from Biden and Lugar Nov. 1st, “violence against women and girls has a significant impact on the health and development of countries worldwide … It impedes economic development because it can prevent girls from going to school, or stop women from holding jobs or inheriting property or shut down access to critical health care for themselves and their children.”