March 8 is International Women's Day, but for more than one billion women worldwide, the threat of gender based violence looms large every single day of the year.
From Managua to Manila, from Cairo to Khartoum, from Nairobi to New Dehli and around the world, women and girls face appalling physical and sexual violence simply because of their gender.
For years, the International Violence Against Women Act, which would make ending gender-based violence a key element of US foreign policy, has languished in Congress.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than one third of the women on the planet will face physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. That's more than one billion people who will experience rape, domestic abuse, so-called "honor killings," female genital mutilation, and other forms of gender-based violence.
The world's women and girls can wait no longer. As a world leader, the US can and must do more to stop violence against women and girls around the globe.
Urge your US Representative and Senators to prioritize ending gender-based violence in our foreign policy by passing the International Violence Against Women Act.
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