Statement by President Joe Biden on the Occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Today, as we commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we recommit ourselves to the urgent work of ending gender-based violence in the United States and around the world. Gender-based violence is a human rights abuse and a public health crisis that impacts one in three women and girls. We also know that whenever and wherever women and girls are under threat, so too are peace, stability, and economic progress.

Working to end violence against women and girls has been the cause of my life.  In the U.S. Senate, I wrote and championed the Violence Against Women Act, working across the aisle and with courageous survivors to strengthen the law four times.  As President, I was proud to sign into law the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act, which expanded access to safety and support for survivors, increased prevention efforts, and established new federal protections against online harassment and abuse. Under my Administration’s leadership, the United States secured the highest-ever funding levels to implement the Violence Against Women Act, and, globally, we have maintained the highest-ever level of investment to address gender-based violence at $250 million per year.

My Administration issued the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, updated the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, and worked tirelessly to prevent and address gender-based violence in all its forms, including through the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse and the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse, which has grown to a 15-country membership. We’ve advanced policies within the United States and globally to address online safety; invested in efforts to prevent technology-facilitated gender-based violence—including countering its chilling effects on women’s civic and political participation; and supported survivors of image-based sexual abuse.

We have also taken historic steps to strengthen justice and accountability for conflict-related sexual violence. In 2022, I issued a Presidential Memorandum on Promoting Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence—directing federal agencies to leverage sanctions authorities, assistance restrictions, and other tools to promote accountability for perpetrators of this human rights abuse. Since the release of that memorandum, the United States issued nearly two dozen sanctions, including for the first time several issued solely on the basis of sexual violence. And earlier this year, we announced the Dignity in Documentation Initiative, which supports civil society-led efforts to investigate and document sexual violence in conflict.

Today we reflect on the tremendous progress we’ve made since the first International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women a quarter century ago.  We also recommit ourselves to the work ahead to achieve a world in which all women and girls can live free from fear, free from violence, and free from abuse.

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