DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSE
WHEREAS,
women are under-represented in government in proportion to their numbers in the
population worldwide, and are the largest and fastest growing group among the
world’s poor; and
WHEREAS,
women all over the world have been economically, politically, culturally,
sexually and psychologically subordinated; and continue to suffer from
long-standing control and abuse of their bodies and their lives; and
WHEREAS,
two-thirds of the 125 million children who will never receive an education are
girls and two-thirds of the 880 million illiterate adults are women; and
WHEREAS,
women worldwide are subject to sex-based discrimination and vulnerable to
gender-based violence and, the concept of human rights cannot be fully realized
if women’s rights are not fully recognized; and
WHEREAS,
activism to stop violence and human rights abuse against women is on the
rise worldwide; and
WHEREAS,
the United States Congress passed a resolution supporting reauthorization of
the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, which strengthened criminal
laws, established the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and created grant
programs to encourage comprehensive community response to violence against women
across the United States; and
WHEREAS,
the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have awarded VAWA
grants to support critical state and local programming and initiatives that
benefit cities across the nation, such as hiring and training law enforcement
officers, prosecutors, victim advocates and court personnel, creating
specialized domestic violence police and prosecution units, providing shelter
and services for victims of domestic violence, providing civil legal assistance
for victims of domestic violence, funding community-based domestic violence and
sexual assault programs, and training health care and social service
professionals; and
WHEREAS,
the goals of the Women Mayors’ Caucus include exploring issues
of importance to cities and women leaders of this country and forwarding
appropriate policy recommendations to the Conference membership body as a
whole,
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors
opposes violent crimes against women and strongly supports programs promoting
comprehensive community responses, elements and tested strategies to eliminate
violence against women; and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors strongly
supports full funding for Violence Against Women Act programs as well as
efforts which support the abolition of international systematic cultural and
state-sanctioned physical, sexual and psychological human rights abuse and
oppression of women throughout the world.
©2004 U.S. Conference of Mayors 