Historical Overview of U.S. Policy and Legislative Responses to Honor-Based Violence, Forced Marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
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U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice National Institute of Justice Historical Overview of U.S. Policy and Legislative Responses to Honor-Based Violence, Forced Marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Marieke Brock, Researcher Emma Buckthal, Attorney Advisor September 2018 A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Under an Interagency Agreement with the Office of the Director, National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ 252841 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh St. N.W. Washington, DC 20531 David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D. Director, National Institute of Justice This and other publications and products of the National Institute of Justice can be found at: National Institute of Justice Strengthen Science • Advance Justice nij.ojp.gov Office of Justice Programs Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice O J P.gov The National Institute of Justice is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ’s mission is to advance scientific research, development, and evaluation to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Opinions or conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Historical Overview of U.S. Policy and Legislative Responses to Honor‐Based Violence, Forced Marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Under an Interagency Agreement with the Office of the Director, National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice September 2018 Researcher: MariekeBrock Attorney Advisor: Emma Buckthal 70 Years of Research Services to the Federal Government 1948 – 2018 Responses to Gender-Based Violence Preface 0. PREFACE Within the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency tasked with responding to administration priorities, as well as providing the criminal justice community with accurate, qualitative, and quantitative research. In addition to these analytical efforts, NIJ funds the creation of field tools and technology that may help reduce crime, mitigate recidivism, and promote justice. In the summer of 2018, NIJ contracted the Federal Research Division (FRD) within the Library of Congress for research and analytical support to aid its response to Section 11 of Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which was issued on March 6, 2017, by President Donald J. Trump. This particular section directs the government to increase its transparency with the American people and to improve its policies and procedures by collecting (and making public) information on the numbers and types of acts of gender-based violence, including so-called “honor killings,” by foreign nationals living in the United States. The goal of this report is to support law enforcement’s ability to understand and accurately identify acts of gender-based violence in the United States that are rooted in cultural practices. This report represents a high-level analysis, comprising a concise global historical perspective of the practices that promulgate honor-based violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation/cutting; a current snapshot of gender-based violence in the United States; and an overview of existing responses to these forms of violence across the federal government. The analysis in this report is based on a literature review of peer-reviewed research published in current periodicals and scholarly journals, as well as online. Additional resources include reports, trainings, and websites published by advocacy groups, national governments, and international organizations. The main body of the report, which lays out the research findings by the type of violence and lists current government efforts, is followed by a series of appendices that support its contents. FRD provides customized research and analytical services on domestic and international topics to agencies of the U.S. government, the District of Columbia, and authorized federal contractors on a cost-recovery basis. This report represents an independent analysis by FRD and the author, who sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. It should not be considered an expression of an official U.S. government position, policy, or decision. This project was supported by Contract No. DJO-NIJ-18-RO-0111 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice. Federal Research Division 1 Responses to Gender-Based Violence Tables of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS 0. PREFACE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. KEY FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1. General ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2. Honor-Based Violence...................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Forced Marriage.................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.4. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting .............................................................................................................. 7 1.5. Overview of Approaches in the United States ........................................................................................ 7 2. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................... 10 4. HONOR-BASED VIOLENCE ................................................................................................................................... 12 4.1. In the United States........................................................................................................................................ 15 4.2. Legislative Responses .................................................................................................................................... 16 5. FORCED MARRIAGE ................................................................................................................................................. 17 5.1. In the United States........................................................................................................................................ 20 5.2. Legislative Responses .................................................................................................................................... 22 6. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING ...................................................................................................... 23 6.1. In the United States........................................................................................................................................ 26 6.2. Legislative Responses .................................................................................................................................... 29 7. OVERVIEW OF APPROACHES IN THE UNITED STATES ..............................................................................31 7.1. Health Sector .................................................................................................................................................... 32 7.1.1. Policy and Resources .............................................................................................................................. 32 7.1.2. Activities and Initiatives ......................................................................................................................... 32 7.1.3. Training ........................................................................................................................................................ 33 7.1.4. Data Collection .......................................................................................................................................... 33 7.2. Education Sector .............................................................................................................................................. 33 7.2.1. Policy and Resources .............................................................................................................................