Central American Women and Children Protection Act of 2021
This bill temporarily authorizes the Department of State to enter into bilateral compacts with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen criminal justice systems, social supports, and other means to protect women and children from domestic and gender-based violence.
At least 15 days before entering a compact, the State Department must submit to Congress a copy of the proposed agreement and related materials. Authority to enter a compact terminates on September 30, 2023, and a compact may last no more than six years.
To support the objectives outlined in a compact, the State Department may provide assistance to international organizations, civil society, or other private entities for programs and activities to prevent and respond to domestic and gender-based violence in a compact country. The bill bars the provision of assistance to the government of a compact country as direct budgetary support.
The State Department may suspend or terminate the assistance if a compact country or entity receiving the assistance engaged in conduct contrary to U.S. national security interests or inconsistent with the objectives of the compact. The State Department must notify Congress at least 15 days before suspending or terminating assistance.
The bill also requires the State Department to annually report on progress made under each compact, including its effect on reported violence against women and children and other domestic and gender-based violence indicators.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4017 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4017
To authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal
years 2021 through 2023 to provide assistance to El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras through bilateral compacts to increase
protection of women and children in their homes and communities and
reduce female homicides, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 17, 2021
Mrs. Torres of California (for herself, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. McGovern, and
Mr. Cohen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal
years 2021 through 2023 to provide assistance to El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras through bilateral compacts to increase
protection of women and children in their homes and communities and
reduce female homicides, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Central American Women and Children
Protection Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras have among the highest homicide rates
in the world. In 2020, there were--
(A) 19.7 homicides per 100,000 people in El
Salvador;
(B) 15.4 homicides per 100,000 people in Guatemala;
and
(C) 37.6 homicides per 100,000 people in Honduras.
(2) El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are characterized
by a high prevalence of drug- and gang-related violence,
murder, and crimes involving sexual- and gender-based violence
against women and children, including domestic violence, child
abuse, and sexual assault.
(3) In 2019, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras were all
listed among the 7 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean
region with the highest rates of femicides (the intentional
killing of women or girls because of their gender). In 2019--
(A) 113 women in El Salvador were victims of
femicide;
(B) 160 women in Guatemala were victims of
femicide; and
(C) 299 women in Honduras were victims of femicide
or violent homicide.
(4) In 2015, El Salvador and Honduras were among the top 3
countries in the world with the highest child homicides rates,
with more than 22 and 32 deaths per 100,000 children,
respectively, according to the nongovernmental organization
Save the Children.
(5) Thousands of women, children, and families from El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras fled unsafe homes and
communities in 2019.
(6) Violent crimes against women and children are generally
assumed to be substantially under-reported because the majority
of victims lack safe access to protection and justice.
(7) Impunity for perpetrators of violence against women is
rampant in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. There was a 5
percent conviction rate for violence against women in El
Salvador in 2016 and 2017. The impunity level for violence
against women in Guatemala was 97.05 percent in 2018. In 2018,
there was an impunity rate of 95 percent for violence against
women in Honduras.
(8) According to a study conducted by the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars--
(A) childhood experiences with domestic violence in
Latin America are a major risk factor for future
criminal behavior; and
(B) 56 percent of incarcerated women and 59 percent
of incarcerated men surveyed experienced intra-familial
violence during childhood.
SEC. 3. WOMEN AND CHILDREN PROTECTION COMPACTS.
(a) Authorization To Enter Into Compacts.--The Secretary of State,
in coordination with 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 Act as ``Compact Countries''). Such
agreements shall be known as Women and Children Protection Compacts
(referred to in this Act as ``Compacts'').
(b) Purpose.--Each Compact shall--
(1) set out the shared goals and objectives of the United
States and the government of the Compact Country; and
(2) be aimed at strengthening the Compact Country's
efforts--
(A) 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;
(B) to secure, create, and sustain safe
communities, building on best practices to prevent and
deter violence against women and children;
(C) to ensure that schools are safe and promote the
prevention and early detection of domestic abuse
against women and children within communities; and
(D) 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.
(c) Compact Elements.--Each Compact shall--
(1) establish a 3- to 6-year cooperative strategy and
assistance plan for achieving the shared goals and objectives
articulated in such Compact;
(2) be informed by the assessments of--
(A) the areas within the Compact Country
experiencing the highest incidence of violence against
women and children;
(B) the ability of women and children to access
protection and obtain effective judicial relief; and
(C) 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;
(3) 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;
(4) identify clear and measurable goals, objectives, and
benchmarks under the Compact to detect, deter and respond to
violence against women and children;
(5) 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;
(6) 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;
(7) 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;
(8) provide for the conduct of an impact evaluation not
later than 1 year after the conclusion of the Compact; and
(9) 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.
(d) Sunset.--The authority to enter into Compacts under this Act
shall expire on September 30, 2023.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) Assistance.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, is authorized to provide assistance under this section.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to
carry out this Act.
(c) Implementers.--Assistance authorized under subsection (a) may
be provided through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts or other
innovative financing instruments to civil society, international
organizations, or other private entities with relevant expertise.
(d) Prohibition on Funding to Central Governments.--No funds
appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) may be provided as direct
budgetary support to the Government of El Salvador, the Government of
Guatemala, or the Government of Honduras.
(e) Suspension of Assistance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in coordination
with the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, may suspend or terminate assistance
authorized under this Act if the Secretary determines that the
Compact Country or implementing entity--
(A) is engaged in activities that are contrary to
the national security interests of the United States;
(B) has engaged in a pattern of actions
inconsistent with the goals, objectives, commitments,
or obligations under the Compact; or
(C) has failed to make sufficient progress toward
meeting the goals, objectives, commitments, or
obligations under the Compact.
(2) Reinstatement.--The Secretary of State, in coordination
with the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, may reinstate assistance suspended
or terminated pursuant to paragraph (1) only if the Secretary
certifies to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives that the Compact Country or implementing entity
has taken steps to correct each condition for which assistance
was suspended or terminated under paragraph (1).
(3) Notification and report.--Not later than 15 days before
suspending or terminating assistance pursuant to paragraph (1),
the Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, shall
notify the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of
the suspension or termination, including a justification for
such action.
SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.
Not later than 15 days before entering into a Compact with the
Government of Guatemala, the Government of Honduras, or the Government
of El Salvador, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives--
(1) a copy of the proposed Compact;
(2) a detailed summary of the cooperative strategy and
assistance plan required under section 3(c); and
(3) a copy of any annexes, appendices, or implementation
plans related to the Compact.
SEC. 6. COMPACT PROGRESS REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.
(a) Progress Report.--Not later than 1 year after entering into a
Compact, and annually during the life of the Compact, the Secretary of
State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall submit a report to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives describing the progress
made under the Compact.
(b) Contents.--The report under subsection (a) shall include--
(1) analysis and information on the overall rates of
gender-based violence against women and children in El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including by using survivor
surveys, regardless of whether or not these acts of violence
are reported to government authorities;
(2) analysis and information on incidences of cases of
gender-based violence against women and children reported to
the authorities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and
the percentage of alleged perpetrators investigated,
apprehended, prosecuted, and convicted;
(3) analysis and information on the capacity and resource
allocation of child welfare systems in El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras to protect unaccompanied children;
(4) the percentage of reported violence against women and
children cases reaching conviction;
(5) a baseline and percentage changes in women and children
victims receiving legal and other social services;
(6) a baseline and percentage changes in school retention
rates;
(7) a baseline and changes in capacity of police,
prosecution service, and courts to combat violence against
women and children;
(8) a baseline and changes in capacity of health,
protection, and other relevant ministries to support survivors
of gender-based violence; and
(9) independent external evaluation of funded programs,
including compliance with terms of the Compacts by El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras, and by the recipients of the
assistance.
(c) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development shall provide a
briefing to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
regarding--
(1) the data and information collected pursuant to this
section; and
(2) the steps taken to protect and assist victims of
domestic violence, sexual violence, and child exploitation and
neglect.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and International Economic Policy.
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