Bill > S5584

This bill, titled the "Countering Violence in the Western Hemisphere Act," is a comprehensive legislative effort to address violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere through multiple strategic approaches. The bill requires the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand engagement with women-led local organizations, develop programming to increase direct local funding for organizations combating violence, and simplify resource access for local partners. It mandates the inclusion of gender-based violence descriptions in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and requires the Department of State and USAID to collaborate on training local law enforcement to report, prevent, investigate, and prosecute gender-based violence. The bill also establishes a $2 million annual contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, promotes educational exchange programming focused on researching violence against women and children, and calls for a comprehensive report examining violence as a driver of migration and an indicator of foreign influence in the region. Additionally, the bill instructs the Secretary of State to develop strategies for law enforcement engagement, expand economic empowerment programming, and encourage research partnerships and scholarly exchanges that address the root causes of violence against women and children in the Western Hemisphere.