If enacted, The Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act (H.R. 1413) and The Protection of Vulnerable Populations in Humanitarian Emergencies Act (S. 559) will ensure that the United States government makes protection of women and children a priority by funding initiatives to prevent, detect and respond to violence against women and children and their exploitation during humanitarian emergencies. This means that -- in addition to providing food, water, and shelter -- our government will also assess the special health and protection needs of women and children during emergency situations and have a strategy and resources to address those needs at the community level.

Child protection involves preventing or mitigating the most damaging effects of an emergency on children.  This means that all aspects of the relief effort -- the provision of food, shelter, health, sanitation and education -- need to be viewed with children in mind.  Do separated and orphaned children have access to food and water?  Does the ration card system take these children into account?  Is their school still standing or is there a designated place for children to gather to continue their studies?

The protection of children also includes programs designed to identify and register children separated from their families and either reunite them or place in other appropriate care.  These children may also need special protection from violence or other forms of exploitation.  In addition, all children will need a safe place to play, programs to mitigate the shock that this event has caused and schools to re-open so that they can return to some sense of normalcy in their lives.

This legislation would require:

• New funding for initiatives to protect women and children from the ravages of crisis and conflict;

• The U.S. government to develop an integrated strategy for protecting women and children during all stages of conflict and report on this strategy to Congress;

• A “protection coordinator” to be responsible for overseeing these efforts;

• The prohibition of any assistance to humanitarian agencies that have not adopted a code of conduct to protect beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and abuse; and

• A stipulation that foreign-assistance programs include activities that increase the access and participation of women and youth in conflict prevention and resolution, economic and political empowerment, and leadership development.