This Just In! Human Rights Commission Hearing on Violence Against Women—Strategies and Responses

THIS THURSDAY (April 15th) the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives will be holding a hearing on violence against women. As stated in the official hearing notice,

Violence against women includes sexual, physical, or emotional abuse by an intimate partner, family member or others, abuse and harassment by figures of authority, human trafficking for purposes of forced labor or sex, and cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, forced/child marriages, dowry-related violence and honor killings.  

To address these timely issues, the Commission has invited the following witnesses:

Panel I:
Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA)
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX)

Panel II:
Dr. Lydia Mungherera of Uganda, Founder of Mama's Club
V. Humaira Shahid of Pakistan, Former Member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly
Ret. Major General Patrick Cammaert, Former UN Force Commander
Gary Barker, Ph.D, Director of Gender, Violence and Rights at the International Center for Research on Women

Organizations such as Amnesty International, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and Women Thrive Worldwide are using the hearing as an opportunity to increase awareness of the International Violence Against Women Act.

If you are in the D.C. area on Thursday, we strongly recommend you attend the hearing to learn latest information on violence against women as top experts offer strategies on ending these human rights violations. The hearing is from 2-4pm in B-318 Rayburn HOB.

Also, don’t miss our Annual Conference in NYC June 11-12th. Co-presented with the U.S. National Committee for UNIFEM, Strategic Imperatives for Ending Violence Against Women: Linkages to Education, Economic Security, and Health will offer a series of panels and workshops exploring the myriad causes and underlying factors that fuel and exacerbate violence against women and girls. To learn more, click here.