Join Women Thrive Worldwide to support the International Violence against Women Act (IVAWA). Add your name to this petition. It impacts women and girls worldwide!

Violence against women is a human rights violation and a worldwide pandemic— approximately 1 out of every 3 women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. The good news is that violence against women is preventable and that there are proven solutions that work. The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA), which would be introduced in the US Congress on February 4, 2010, if passed, would for the first time comprehensively incorporate these solutions into U.S. foreign assistance programs.

Please help make the IVAWA a reality for the millions of women worldwide. Here’s how you can take action and make a difference today:

• Show your support for the IVAWA – add your name to this petition and we will carry your voices to the members of the US Congress
• Urge your Senator and/or Representative to co-sponsor the IVAWA. Take action at www.WomenThrive.org/ivawa
• Get and share the IVAWA Widget with your blogs, websites and social media networks

What will the passage of I-VAWA mean to women around the world?

• Increased efforts to prevent violence against women during conflict and in humanitarian settings
• Legal reform and commitment to finding perpetrators and bringing them to justice
• Strengthened capacity of women's organizations to help survivors
• Increased opportunities for women, free from violence, to seek testing or treatment for HIV/AIDS
• Expanded economic and educational opportunities that would help women who are abused flee their abuser or reduce their risk for sexual exploitation by giving them economic options.

The IVAWA was developed by Women Thrive Worldwide, Amnesty International USA, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and members of Congress with the help of organizational partners. It was drafted in consultation with more than 150 groups including U.S.-based NGOs, U.N. agencies and 40 women's groups across the globe.The bill is being reintroduced by Congressman Delahunt (D-MA), Congressman Poe (R-TX), Congresswoman Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) with other members and Senator Kerry (D-MA), Senator Snowe (R-ME), Senator Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Collins (R-ME) with other Senators.