WILPF/PeaceWomen themes covered:

General Women, Peace and Security:  1/16

Conflict Prevention:  3/16

Disarmament:  0/16

Displacement and Humanitarian Response:  3/16

Participation: 3/16

Peace Processes: 3/16

Peacekeeping: 4/16

Protection: 4/16

Reconstruction and Peacebuilding: 1/16

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: 4/16

Implementation: 4/16

Justice, Rule of Law, SSR: 6/16

Human Rights: 3/16

General themes covered:

1.) Youth, peace and security;

2.) Upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security; 

3.) Mediation and settlement of disputes; and

4.) Strengthening multilateralism and the role of the United Nations. 

WILPF/PeaceWomen themes covered:

General Women, Peace and Security: 0/4

Conflict Prevention: 2/4

Disarmament: 0/4

Displacement and Humanitarian Response: 0/4

Participation:1/4

Peace Processes: 0/4

Peacekeeping: 0/4

Protection: 2/4

Reconstruction and Peacebuilding: 0/4

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: 0/4

Implementation: 0/4

Justice, Rule of Law, SSR: 2/4

Human Rights: 1/4

WILPF/PeaceWomen themes covered:

General Women, Peace and Security: 0/1

Conflict Prevention: 0/1

Disarmament: 0/1

Displacement and Humanitarian Response: 1/1

Participation: 0/1

Peace Processes: 0/1

Peacekeeping: 1/1

Protection: 1/1

Reconstruction and Peacebuilding: 0/1

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: 1/1

Implementation: 1/1

Justice, Rule of Law, SSR: 1/1

Human Rights: 1/1

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The United States put forward no new commitments in 2018, but did provide the following updates on commitments from 2017:

Implementation. The United States Government collaborated with Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute to monitor the implementation of the Colombian peace accord, including its inclusivity and gender provisions. The parties to the accord used Kroc’s data to guide strategic decision-making at the national and territorial levels. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has supported civil society monitoring and advocacy initiatives related to national action plans. They are also working with the African Union to strengthen its capacity to review, monitor and implement national action plans on the continent. Finally, they provided support to develop national action plans in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Turning to women’s economic empowerment, the United States is working to build communities that are more resilient to conflict. They have invested $50 million in the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, an innovative multi-donor facility that is aimed at expanding access to finance and technical assistance for women entrepreneurs.

Peace Processes. The United States has also identified Yemeni women experienced in conflict resolution, security and policing, and is encouraging the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen and UN-Women to expand female involvement in the peace process and conflict resolution efforts there.

2018:

Profit from Arms Transfer in 2018: $613,000,000

UN Women Total Contribution in 2018: $8,500,670.00

Profit from Foreign Military Sales in 2018: $55.6 billion

Share of Worlds Arms Exports in 2018: 36% 

Military Expenditure in 2018: $649 billion

2017:

Profit from Arms Transfer in 2017: $12,394,000,000

UN Women Total Contribution in 2017: $8,500,000

In 2017, the United States was ranked 41 of 189 countries. 

Researcher's note: The 2019 Human Development Report will not be released until November 2019, as it is being significantly re-envisioned in order to "go beyond the dominant discourse focused on income disparities."

In 2017, the United States ranked 49 out of 144 countries. 

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Government Funding and Engagement with Women's CSOs. As of 2017 (the most recent data available at time of publication), approximately 1.5 million NGOs were in operation. The United States continued to offer significant funding for civil society, though transparency surrounding the levels of funding and the range of projects funded is decreased. Funding for national CSOs is channeled through several agencies and programs, primarily through an e-government initiative that provides a centralized location for grant-seekers ("Grants.gov"). As of 2016 (the most recent data available), this platform facilitated access to $100 billion in grants. (Because the United States does not provide disaggregated funding data, we are unable to evaluate the extent to which these funds were distributed to women's organizations.)

Spotlight: Grassroots. The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest non-profit organization of grassroots feminist activists in the United States. NOW receives all its operating funds from private donations and membership dues. NOW takes a "multi-issue and multi-strategy" approach. NOW's thematic issues include education, anti-violence, women's empowerment, political participation and women's health (including sexual health and reproductive rights). NOW also focuses on economic justice, racial justice, LGBTQ rights and constitutional equality. NOW does not conduct advocacy surrounding human trafficking, and the organization’s position on sex work is highly problematic. NOW includes, as part of its strategic approach, gender-related training, lobbying, policymaking and fundraising.

PeaceWomen received confirmation from a representative of the United States government that gender sensitivity training occurred within the Department of Defense (DoD) and that broad training objectives were gender-sensitive in 2018. The DoD did not release a follow-up Diversity and Inclusion Plan for 2018-2023 and largely failed to perform substantial reporting surrounding gender-specific training of national law enforcement and security. 

However, this representative of the United States government informed PeaceWomen that this gap in reporting and planning connected to the passage of the Women, Peace and Security Act in 2017. This act triggers specific reporting and planning obligations for the DoD. These reporting and planning obligations must engage with (and are consequently tied to) the White House’s release of its Women, Peace and Security strategy (released a year late, in June 2019). As a result of the White House’s delayed publication of this strategy, planning, progressive implementation and reporting surrounding women, peace and security objectives has stalled. 

Over the course of our evaluation, we found no evidence to demonstrate that the United States Government engaged women's organisations or gender-related societal leaders to provide contextual perspective on gender within the security sector. 

Researcher note: Across our analysis but particularly in this section, PeaceWomen applies strict standards surrounding transparency, consistency and the need for progress, including that (1) no country will “free-ride” or receive credit for work it has done where there is serious progress to be made and (2) countries should be transparent and consistent in publication of their data. (Without data, it is impossible to monitor progress).

In June 2016, the United States of America (USA) adopted their second NAP which was developed on the basis of reviewing policy and programming as well as challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of the first NAP.

In 2017, Congress passed the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Act. The WPS Act mandates the White House's release of a "Women, Peace and Security Strategy... within one year after [its] enactment" as well as the creation of “specific implementation plans from each relevant federal agency” to feed into the United States’ WPS Strategy, establishing specific obligations for the Department of State, Department of Defense (DoD) and the US. Agency for International Development (USAID). The law also creates a biannual reporting obligation on the implementation and impact of the United States’ WPS strategy.

It is critical to note that the United States’ 2016 NAP outlined implementation strategies for the promotion of UNSCR 1325's principles (and spotlighted impact) in designated “developing” countries. The exclusively external focus of the United States’ previous National Action Plan (NAP)*, suggestive of domestic achievement of UNSCR 1325 objectives, is illustrative of a broader and highly problematic trend across the NAPs of “developed” and “donor” countries; contributes (in its worst forms) to the promulgation of imperialist narratives; and reflects a blatant and fundamental misunderstanding of the progressive spirit of UNSCR 1325. 

Researcher’s note: The United States’ WPS Act of 2017 is similarly external in focus. 

SIPRI's estimate of the United States military expenditure in 2017 was $605,803,000,000.

The United States' 2016 NAP contained no allocated or estimated budget.

Women's representation in 2018 (across the government) improved slightly from 2017. In 2017, the United States House of Representatives was composed of 19.4% women. The United States Senate was composed of 21% women.

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The following figures provide additional insight into women’s participation, standing and experience within the labour force in the United States in 2018:  

• Estimated earned income per year (US$): $46,914 for women; $72,413 for men.    

• Legislators, senior officials and managers: 40.5% for women; 59.5% for men. 

• Professional and technical workers: 52.9% for women; 47.1% for men. 

Girls’ enrolment in primary Improvement from 2017, 0.8% for girls and 1.9% for boys. Girls’ enrolment in secondary education remained consistent with 2017, whereas boys enrolment jumped 3.2%. Boys and girls’ literacy rate remained the same and consistent with 2017.

The gendered perspective, as outlined in the above methodology and indicators, is enshrined in the United States legal framework by way of the following:  

The United States Constitution. While the United States Constitution does not guarantee equal rights for women, it does guarantee women’s right to vote by way of the 19th Amendment. Two campaigns to amend the Constitution to guarantee women’s equal rights, the first of which occurred on the heels of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 and the latter gaining momentum at the height of the second-wave feminist movement in the 1970s, failed.

Relevant Acts. Relevant acts include: The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (establishes principle of “equal pay for equal work”); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (bans sex discrimination in employment); The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (establishes 12 weeks of unpaid leave for federal employees when giving birth to or adopting children, among other family-related qualifying circumstances); The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (aims to protect and destigmatize victims of domestic crimes); Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (expanding workers rights by revising statutes of limitations in pay discrimination cases); and Title IX of the Education Amendments of  1972 (non-discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance). 

It is important to note that the importance and strength of these laws for securing equal rights and protections for women is, in part, due to the bodies of case law resulting from their interpretation.

Reproductive Rights. There is no universal guarantee of comprehensive reproductive rights (the right to decide whether and when to have children) in the United States. In 2018, five states (Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ohio) enacted bans on abortion.

A Clarifying Note on Affirmative Action. Affirmative action is roughly defined as a grouping of policies and body of case law that collectively aims to ensure opportunities for minority and vulnerable groups. 

Affirmative action policies were initially established by Executive Order 10925,  signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 (mandating that employers “not discriminate” against employees or applicants as well as take “affirmative action” to ensure that employees are treated “ during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin”); extended by President Lyndon B. Johnson  in 1965 (affirming the federal Government's commitment to promote equal employment opportunities); and ultimately expanded in 1967 by Executive Order 11375 to include sex as a protected category. Affirmative action is otherwise woven into nondiscrimination mandates of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other laws protecting vulnerable groups.

Supreme Court Decisions. Relevant Supreme Court decisions include Eisenstadt v. Baird, 1972 (establishing the right of unmarried people to contraception); Roe v. Wade, 1973 (establishing the right to abortion) and Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 1986 (establishing the illegality of sexual harassment).

Equality and financial affordability of access to formal legal dispute systems and the right to legal representation. In the United States, the right to counsel is derived from the 6th Amendment (the right to a fair trial), the 14th Amendment (the right to due process and equal protection before the law), and—significantly— by the 1963 case of Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that states have a constitutional obligation (under the 14th Amendment) to provide counsel (required under the 6th Amendment) to those unable to afford it in criminal prosecutions.  The United States does not guarantee the right to legal representation in civil cases (including immigration, foreclosure, landlord-tenant and child-support proceedings). 

Non-discrimination law. See above evaluation of the “Presence of Gendered Perspective in Legal Framework” in the United States.  

Free access to an interpreter during legal proceedings. With the passage of the Court Interpreters Act (28 USC. § 1827) in 1978, Defendants for whom the English language represents a barrier to due process receive government-funded, court-appointed interpreters.

Victim protection. Victim protection is guaranteed under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 (18 USC. § 3771). 

The US government complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government enforced human trafficking protections currently in place, and aimed to advance a cohesive “victim-centered” approach among local, state and federal law enforcement. 

Though it increased funding for the protection of trafficking victims in 2018 from 2017, the US government coupled this increase with a decrease in the number of trafficking-specific pathways to immigration and ac

In 2018, there were 9,183 unmet requests for services in a single day, of which 6,972 (76%) were for housing. Though the total number of unmet requests for services decreased from 11,441 in 2017, the percentage of requests for housing increased in 2018 (from 65% in 2017). The remaining 2,221 (24%) unmet requests were for services related to emergency shelter, transportation, childcare, legal representation, and other issues. 

Services could not be provided because programs lacked the resources required to meet survivors' needs. In 2018, 701 staff positions were laid off or went unfilled nationwide (down from 1,077 in 2017). However, 78%, or 547, of these staff positions were direct service providers (as, for example, shelter staff or legal advocates). This represents a significant increase from 2017: In 2017, 62% of unfilled or redundant positions were direct service providers. 

This data shows that, while the United States technically “checks the box,” gaps in service provision are increasing while the capacity to address them are decreasing. 

Researcher’s note on best practices: For purposes of the above discussion, PeaceWomen draws from the point-in-time census counts (taken on one specific day each year) conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence. This research, both in conceptualization and conduct, serves as a particularly effective method for evaluating the status of protections against sexual violence because it focuses directly on survivors and their needs, pulling data from those that provide these services, rather than governments' standard form of measurement-- counting numbers of shelters/centres in operation-- which gives a less clear picture of the work actually being done. 

Women Veterans' affairs offices. The United States Center for Women Veterans (CWV) works to advise on, monitor and implement policies, programs and legislation that affect women veterans; serve as a resource, referral and education center for women Veterans, their family and their advocates and to reach out to women veterans and promote recognition of their services. Each state operates a separate Veterans Affairs division, each of which houses a women veterans program (typically assisted by a Women Veterans Coordinator).

Economic benefits. The United States Veteran’s Affairs Department (VA) is responsible for administering economic benefits, including: disability compensation (a tax-free monetary benefit paid to veterans with disabilities that are the result of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service); dependency and Indemnity Compensation (a tax free monetary benefit generally payable to a surviving spouse, child, or parent of servicemembers who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training or survivors of veterans who died from their service-connected disabilities; Special Monthly Compensation (an additional tax-free benefit that can be paid to Veterans, their spouses, surviving spouses and parents, which includes a higher rate of compensation paid due to special circumstances such as the need of aid and attendance by another person or a specific disability, such as loss of use of one hand or leg). The VA also provides housing and insurance benefits (subject to veterans’ circumstances matching

Health service benefits. In the United States, all veterans receive coverage for most types of care. (Coverage includes mental health services to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military sexual trauma (MST), depression, and substance use problems.) However, women veterans space specific challenges in accessing care (including entrenched sexism within VA hospitals, which decreases the likelihood of women veterans seeking and obtaining the care they need). Civil society organisations, like Woven, women veterans in US politics, and grassroots advocates support women veterans to navigate the challenges they face in reintegrating into civilian life and advocate for more recognition and better care.

It is important to note that government provision of cost-free healthcare is contingent on the veteran’s use of the VA’s facilities. The system currently operates 1,200 care locations and serves 9 million veterans each year. The VA’s integrated health care system, embattled by scandals surrounding wait times and accessibility, was substantially changed with the passage of the VA Mission Act of 2018. This act allows those veterans who can prove they must drive for at least 30 minutes to a VA facility to seek primary care and mental health services outside the VA system, rendering 20-30% of veterans eligible for this form of “community care” (up from 8% of those eligible to access private health care before the law’s passage). The privatization of care in the VA’s healthcare system exemplifies a broader trend cutting across the United States government in 2018: the encroachment of the private sector on public service provision. 

Educational benefits. Since 1944, the VA has administered education benefits primarily by way of the G.I. Bill and (since 2001) the Post-9/11 G.I Bill, which help veterans pay for college, graduate and other programs. The United States government also provides veterans with funding for technical and vocational training programs. The VA also offers an Education and Career Counseling program which provides veterans with personalized counseling and support. 

Employment services. The VA provides post-military assistance by way of the Transition [to Civilian Life] Assistance Program (TAP). For those veterans with disabilities that prevent them from working in traditional employment environments, the US. Department of Affairs administers the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program. As outlined above in the “Educational benefits” section, the VA also offers an Education and Career Counseling program (providing veterans with personalized counseling and support).

National crisis hotline. 19,459 hotline calls were answered in 2018 (down from 20,945). 18,473 (95%) of these calls were answered by local or state hotlines. 986 (5%) were answered by the National Domestic Violence Hotline (a non-profit leader in hotline service provision in the United States). There was little change in division of service provision in 2017, at which time 19,147 (91%) of calls were answered by local or state hotlines with 1,798 (9%) answered by the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Women's shelters and counseling services. 1,870 domestic violence service providers were identified in 2018. Of these, 1,608 participated in the National Census of Domestic Violence Services census count.* Of these participants, 71% provided emergency shelter, 33% provide transitional and other housing, and 31% offer counseling services by a licensed practitioner. 

Women's rape crisis centres. Nearly 1,300 rape crisis centers were operational in the United States as of August 2018. 

National sex-offender list or website. The United States is the sole member of the Permanent Five Members to the UN Security Council that has established a public and accessible national sex-offender database. The National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR), housed under the United States Department of Justice, links state, territorial and tribal sex offender registries in one national search site. The registry can be used to identify location information on sex offenders. 

Support groups for survivors. There are a significant number of support groups for survivors in the United States, many of which are listed under the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s directory.

As recognised in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report*, surrounding the implementation of dedicated programmes to support survivors of human trafficking by the United States government in 2018, “NGOs and survivor advocates continued to express concern that despite federally funded programs to provide comprehensive services for all victims of trafficking, comprehensive services were not always provided… NGOs and survivor advocates continued to report insufficient access to emergency shelter, transitional housing, and long-term housing options for trafficking victims. Advocates called for more culturally appropriate services and increased availability of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and survivor-informed services for trafficking victims. Advocates also continued to call for improvements to education, job training, and job placement for survivors.”

*See resource no. 2, below.

Continuing a worrying trend, the United States' “refugee strategy,” aimed to decrease the number of refugees and eliminate or drastically reduce programs providing basic health, legal, employment, educational and community integration services to refugees, is increasingly justified by the United States government through the couching of anti-other (and particularly anti-Muslim) bigotry in the language of “legitimate national security measures,” including through the framing of refugees as a threat to national security. In 2018, debates on immigration more broadly were divisive and contentious. The United States does not articulate a specific strategy for addressing the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs). 

Refugees and Asylum Seekers. In 2018*, the United States: 

• Cut resettlement admission numbers for a second year to a historic low of 22,491 (representing half of the 45,000 refugee cap). Disaggregated data shows that the composition of the pool of admitted refugees has seriously changed: admitted refugees come predominantly from Africa and Eastern Europe. Admission of Muslim refugees decreased by 90 percent since 2017. Admission of Latin American refugees decreased by almost 40 percent. This is particularly worrying, as regions with predominantly Muslim populations and Latin America produced some of the highest numbers of refugees in 2018 (due to armed conflict and other violence). 
• Obtained a “victory” in the United States Supreme Court, which allowed the (third) revision of the United States “travel ban” on  nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen to stand. The United States Supreme Court concluded that, 

“The [Executive Order] is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices. The text says nothing about religion. Plaintiffs and the dissent nonetheless emphasize that five of the seven nations currently included in the Proclamation have Muslim-majority populations. Yet that fact alone does not support an inference of religious hostility, given that the policy covers just 8% of the world’s Muslim population and is limited to countries that were previously designated by Congress or prior administrations as posing national security risks.”

• Ended temporary protected status (TPS), legal status granted to migrants from countries that have suffered natural disasters, protracted unrest, or conflict, for thousands of refugees who are now at risk of deportation. The Haitian, Nicaraguan, Honduran, Nepali, and Salvadoran communities within the United States are among the most seriously impacted.
• Gutted resettlement agencies and programs (including the nine voluntary agencies that receive federal funding in accordance with the number of refugees they resettle), implementing drastic budget cuts and staff layoffs. It is critical to recall that these dramatic cuts come on the heels of a 120-day suspension of the US. Refugee Admission Program by way of Executive Order at the start of 2017. 
• Continued to seek an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary legal protection to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. The program remains in operation pending litigation.

Internally Displaced Persons. In 2018** 1,247,000 United States citizens were newly displaced due to weather-related natural disasters, comprising nearly 10% of the global population’s newly displaced as a result of weather-related natural disasters in 2018. The magnitude of the issue is clear: in the state of California alone, which suffered the most destructive outbreak of wildfires in its history in 2018, more than 350,000 new displacements were recorded (with 335,000 hectares of land burnt and more than 100 lives lost). 

Weather-related displacements occurred against a backdrop of widespread and popular climate science denial and the current administration’s rollbacks on climate policy and action (including withdrawal from the Paris Agreement). In its examination of the United States’ action and policy on climate change, the global Climate Action Policy Tracker accorded the United States its lowest possible rating of “critically insufficient.”  

The internally displaced are largely ignored in the United States. The United States does not have a designated agency for addressing the needs of the internally displaced, leaving responsibility primarily to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Beleaguered by lack of adequate funding and staff burnout and turnover, FEMA’s “patchwork” recovery system and limited capacity for meeting IDPs needs has long been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism in the United States. 

*Researcher’s note: This corresponds to financial year (FY) 2018, which extends from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018.

**Researcher’s note: This data is for the period of January 1 – December 31, 2018.