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Help Protect Women Around the World

Women are the sole wage earners for more than half the families around the world. In places like Congo, Sri Lanka and Sudan, those same women often face violence and considerable risk when they have to go out to gather firewood or other fuel necessary to cook what food they do have.

 Ask your representatives in Washington to support legislation to protect women and girls around the world when it is re-introduced this year. Help ensure their right to feed their families, earn a living and pull their communities out of the cycle of hunger and poverty.

Support the International Violence Against Women Act

I am writing to request you to co-sponsor the International Violence Against Women Act when it is re-introduced in Congress.
 
It is estimated that one in every three women worldwide will experience violence in her lifetime. The International Violence Against Women Act aims to strengthen U.S. leadership on this issue by integrating anti-violence efforts across U.S. foreign assistance programs, including education, health, economic growth, legal reform and humanitarian assistance.  
 
As a supporter of the Women's Refugee Commission, I am particularly concerned about women and girls in war-torn areas. Rape has been used to terrorize women and girls and tear apart communities in numerous recent conflicts, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Darfur, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
 
The International Violence Against Women Act includes important provisions that would help increase services for survivors of sexual violence and improve protection for vulnerable women and girls in conflict zones.
 
Only comprehensive and sustained efforts by the U.S. and the international community can stop gender-based violence. Congress can take a critical step forward with the passage of the International Violence Against Women Act.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5185/t/4424/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=398