To: The Honorable Joe Biden, President of the United States of America
cc: White House Gender Policy Council
The Honorable Antony Blinken, The Secretary of State
The Honorable Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The Honorable Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS
From: Collective of Philanthropic Advocates for Women’s Rights
May 7, 2024
Dear Mr. President,
As a collective of philanthropist-advocates who have invested a cumulative {i.e. US$150 million} in gender equality in the United States and abroad, we write today with a grave concern we know is close to your heart — the rise of violence against women and girls across the globe. At least 1 in 3 women experience a form of violence, like rape or assault, in their lifetime. With the global rise of the anti-rights movement, as well as the effects of climate, war, and the rise of technology-enabled violence, the problem is greatly intensifying, with devastating repercussions for generations to come.
An essential next step to addressing the problem globally is the creation of a global treaty specific to ending gender-based violence. Unlike other human rights abuses, such as torture, there is no binding international law addressing violence against women and girls. The absence of such a law contributes to high levels of impunity and the rise of this crisis across the globe.
Building on the existing human rights framework, a treaty in the form of a new optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) stands to transform the global landscape for women and girls’ safety. The process of securing this global treaty is already underway: Currently, four nations – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Sierra Leone, and Antigua and Barbuda – support the treaty’s creation and are working to bring more nations on board. Additionally, in March, current and former UN Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, its causes and consequences issued a collective call for the Optional Protocol.
“Those taking this process forward are first and foremost States, that’s where the decision-making is,” said current Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem during the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March. “It was [my predecessor] Rashida Manjoo who said the time for the optional protocol was not now, but already yesterday.”
We urge the United States to join this call, publicly stating support for the creation of the new Optional Protocol, despite the political barriers to the United States of becoming a party to CEDAW. In meetings with the United States, government officials expressed to Every Woman Treaty general interest in this effort, and requested periodic updates.
We’re writing to ask you to take the next step: create an official policy of support for a global treaty in the form of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW to end violence against women and girls, communicate the policy to diplomatic missions around the world and provide quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy to further its development.
Mr. President, there is no one better to further the cause of ending violence against women and girls across the globe. You championed the Violence Against Women Act and reached across a vast political divide to get it reauthorized and strengthened. You issued an executive order to establish the White House Gender Policy Council, which led to the nation’s first-ever National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, among so many other initiatives. We call on you now to do this for all the women and girls in the world who need stronger legislation in their countries.
The new protocol would include similar pillars as the US plan, including (1) legal reform to hold perpetrators accountable; (2) training for police, judges, nurses, and doctors; (3) violence-prevention education; and (4) comprehensive survivor services like shelters and hotlines.
Once again, we urge you to:
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Create an official policy of support for a global treaty in the form of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW to end violence against women and girls;
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Communicate the policy to diplomatic missions around the world and;
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Mandate US officials provide quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy to further its development.
Clear support from the United States will propel the creation of a global treaty to end violence against women and girls into the drafting and negotiations stage — and bring us closer to a safer world for women and girls everywhere.
Sincerely,
Anna Lind-Guzik, The Conversationalist, Lisa Shields Time Will Reveal DAF, Lisa Shannon Shakti Global Fund, Kristen McGuire The McGuire Family Fund, Jennifer Risher #HalfMyDAF, Amalgamated Foundation DAF, Sara Hinkle Towanda Foundation, Carey Jones, Barbara Jones Memorial Fund, Sofia A Blanchard, Sofia A Blanchard DAF, Julie Jensen, Oakpoint Charitable Foundation, Theresa Preston- Werner, 128 Collective, Stasia Obremskey, Carroll Obremskey Family DAF, Karla Arria-Devoe, Star Mooring Foundation, Elisa deLaet Jagerson, Elisa deLaet Jagerson, Hali Lee, Asian Women Giving Circle, Stacey Keare, Girls Rights Project, Carol Davis October Mountain Foundation, Andrea Arria- Devoe, Women Moving Millions, Caroline Barlerin, Walk Barlerin DAF, Julie Parker Benello, Secret Sauce Fund, Amy Rao, Schmidt Family Foundation, Patty Quillin, Meadow Fund, Rasha Qamheyeh, Rasha Qamheyeh & Hatem Zeine Charitable Fund, Patricia P. Jackson, Leslie J Decker, Decker-Rimmer Foundation, Kylie Schuyler, Hodge & Schuyler Family Foundation, Junemarie Justus, Justus Gifting Fund, Ayesha Barenblat, Barenblat, Anu Menon, Menon-Garg Family Foundation, Isabel Allende The Isabel Allende Foundation, Liza Siegler, Family DAF, Kate Isler, Be Bold for Change, Surina Khan, Sophia Yen MD, Yen Chuang Foundation, Patricia Lee-Hoffmann, Rosalyn Chen, Chavez Family Foundation, Indrani Goradia, Raft Cares, Kimberly Agnew, Women Moving Millions, Tamara Turner, Jennifer C Haas, Susan Kokores, Thea Handelman, Jen Rainin, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Yehudit Sidikman, El HaLev Fund, Andrea Pizziconi, Girls First Finance Foundation, Mona Sinha, DAF, Tracy Ferron, The Ferron Family Charitable Fund at Schwab Charitable, Wendy Reed, Quasar Empowerment Fund, Sonja Hoel Perkins, Project Glimmer, Kristin Blakely, The Beekay Foundation, Monika Parekh, P-Squared Philanthropies, Rachel Lipschutz, Breea Govenar, Every Page Foundation, Sapphira Shaw, The Goradia Foundation, Elsa Louise Soderberg, Elsa & Peter Soderberg Charitable Foundation, Marti Speranza Wong, Amplify Her Foundation, Raynya Simmons, The Simmons Family DAF, Amy Dornbusch, Marks Family Foundation, Julie George, George Family RBC Charitable Gift Fund
