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Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the beginning of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. The international focus on this vital issue of women's rights during the transition to a new U.S. administration should help influence new policies that are now being made. We must insist that the new administration and the next Congress change the U.S. approach to women's rights worldwide.

And you can help us in these efforts.

A key achievement of Vice President-elect Biden was passage of the Violence Against Women Act, which has improved the situation of survivors of gender based violence in the U.S. Together with Senator Lugar, he developed and introduced the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) in the U.S. Senate on October 31, 2007. Cong. Berman, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced the bill into the House of Representatives on April 30, 2008. 

If passed, I-VAWA will improve the effectiveness of US foreign assistance programs in promoting and respecting women’s rights. It will lead to a comprehensive U.S. strategy for addressing the issue of violence against women in U.S. foreign assistance policies, and will create the first U.S. State Department coordinator working explicitly on this issue.

I-VAWA will also increase efforts to prevent violence against women during conflict and in humanitarian settings, will strengthen local women's organizations that are working to assist survivors and bring perpetrators of violence to justice, increase opportunities for women to seek testing or treatment for HIV/AIDS, and will provide increased economic and educational opportunities to reduce the vulnerability of women at risk of violence.

We need your help to ensure that this important legislation is reintroduced quickly in the next Congress. Take action and send a message to your representative asking him or her to co-sponsor and support enactment of I-VAWA.

--Melanie Teff