Sec. 1373. Women and children protection compacts
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The President, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is authorized to enter into multi-year, bilateral agreements of not longer than 6 years in duration, developed in conjunction with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (referred to in this subtitle as Compact Countries ). Such agreements shall be known as Women and Children Protection Compacts (referred to in this subtitle as Compacts ).
Each Compact shall— set out the shared goals and objectives of the United States and the government of the Compact Country; and be aimed at strengthening the Compact Country’s efforts— to strengthen criminal justice and civil court systems to protect women and children and serve victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and child exploitation and neglect, and hold perpetrators accountable; to secure, create, and sustain safe communities, building on best practices to prevent and deter violence against women and children; to ensure that schools are safe and promote the prevention and early detection of domestic abuse against women and children within communities; and to increase access to high-quality, life-saving health care, including post-rape and dignity kits, psychosocial support, and dedicated spaces and shelters for gender-based violence survivors, in accordance with international standards.
Each Compact shall— establish a 3- to 6-year cooperative strategy and assistance plan for achieving the shared goals and objectives articulated in such Compact; be informed by the assessments of— the areas within the Compact Country experiencing the highest incidence of violence against women and children; the ability of women and children to access protection and obtain effective judicial relief; and the judicial capacity to respond to reports within the Compact Country of femicide, sexual and domestic violence, and child exploitation and neglect, and to hold the perpetrators of such criminal acts accountable; seek to address the driving forces of violence against women and children, which shall include efforts to break the binding constraints to inclusive economic growth and access to justice; identify clear and measurable goals, objectives, and benchmarks under the Compact to detect, deter and respond to violence against women and children; set out clear roles, responsibilities, and objectives under the Compact, which shall include a description of the anticipated policy and financial commitments of the central government of the Compact Country; seek to leverage and deconflict contributions and complementary programming by other donors, international organizations, multilateral institutions, regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector, as appropriate; include a description of the metrics and indicators to monitor and measure progress toward achieving the goals, objectives, and benchmarks under the Compact, including reductions in the prevalence of femicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect; provide for the conduct of an impact evaluation not later than 1 year after the conclusion of the Compact; and provide for a full accounting of all funds expended under the Compact, which shall include full audit authority for the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State, the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Government Accountability Office, as appropriate.
The authority to enter into Compacts under this subtitle shall expire on September 30, 2023.