VOA News reports on the recent appeals by human rights advocates for the U.S. Congress to pass the International Violence Against Women Act, a bill that would fund "a five-year program to reduce violence in countries where the problem is most serious." Then Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) first introduced the legislation in 2007.
According to VOA News, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) said he and other lawmakers plan to reintroduce the legislation. Last week witnesses testified at a hearing, including actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Nicole Kidman and State Department Ambassador-at-Large Melanne Verveer, on the global state of violence against women.
"If passed, [the legislation] would provide funding for assault victims including health care" and "training for local police in preventing violence against women," the news service reports. VOA News writes, "Human rights groups would also like the U.S. to partner with grassroots organizations that educate and empower women in developing countries" (Lee, 10/23).