Sec. 135. United States strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally
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Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter for 6 years, the Secretary of State shall develop or update a United States global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The strategy shall be transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees and made publicly available on the Internet. For the purposes of this section, the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally , issued in August 2012, shall be deemed to fulfill the initial requirement of subsection (a).
In developing the strategy under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall consult with— the heads of relevant Federal agencies; the Senior Policy Operating Group on Trafficking in Persons; and representatives of civil society and multilateral organizations with demonstrated experience in addressing violence against women and girls or promoting gender equality internationally. To further the objectives of the strategy described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall identify no less than 4 eligible low-income and lower-middle income countries with significant levels of violence against women and girls, including within displaced communities, that have the governmental or nongovernmental organizational capacity to manage and implement gender-based violence prevention and response program activities and should, when possible, be geographically, ethnically, and culturally diverse from one another.
In each country identified under subsection
(d)the Secretary shall develop comprehensive, multisectoral, and holistic individual country plans designed to address and respond to violence against women and girls that include— an assessment and description of the current or potential capacity of the government of each identified country and civil society organizations in each such identified country to address and respond to violence against women and girls; an identification of coordination mechanisms with Federal agencies that— have existing programs relevant to the strategy; will be involved in new program activities; and are engaged in broader United States strategies around development; a description of the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms established for each identified country, and their intended use in assessing overall progress in prevention and response; a projection of the general levels of resources needed to achieve the stated objectives in each identified country, including an accounting of— activities and funding already expended by the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, other Federal agencies, donor country governments, and multilateral institutions; and leveraged private sector resources; and strategies, as appropriate, designed to accommodate the needs of stateless, disabled, internally displaced, refugee, or religious or ethnic minority women and girls. Not more than 90 days after selection of the priority countries required under subsection (d), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing the priority country selection process, the development of specific country plans, and include an overview of all programming and specific activities being undertaken, the budget resources requested, and the specific activities to be supported by each Executive agency under the strategy if such resources are provided. Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize any additional appropriations for the purposes and initiatives of this section.