S. 3377 (114^th): Enhancing Military and Police Operations through Women’s Engagement and Recruitment Act of 2016

The United States National Action Plan On Women, Peace and Security expresses the unqualified commitment of the United States to integrating women’s perspectives fully into our diplomatic, defense, and development efforts not simply as beneficiaries, but as agents of peace, security, reconciliation, development, growth, and stability. The plan also specifies the following priorities:

The Department of State’s 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review states that—

United States security sector assistance is a key engagement tool with our foreign partners. Security sector assistance helps further United States interests by seeking to professionalize and develop the police and militaries of our foreign partners, shaping the security sector policies of foreign governments, and building sustainable and legitimate institutions to provide security and justice and respond to the needs of populations. Security sector assistance can also support broad United States policy goals, including respect for human rights, civilian control of the military, and the rule of law.

To support these efforts, the United States Department of State provides funding for a number of training programs for military forces, police and other security forces, and international peacekeeping operations.

Women are underrepresented in security forces worldwide. For instance, in South Asia—

As demonstrated by United States Female Engagement Teams deployed to Afghanistan, female soldiers can enhance the operational effectiveness of security operations and gather information and provide access to local populations that all-male units cannot engage or search.

Female military and police can provide critical contributions to security. For Afghanistan’s 2014 presidential elections, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior recruited and trained 13,000 females to provide security and conduct searches of women at checkpoints and polling stations. Female police facilitated the participation of women in elections.

The International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, funded by the United States Department of State, provides professional military training for the future leaders of our foreign partners, enhances interoperability with the United States Armed Forces, builds relationships among international and United States military students, and conveys United States customs and cultural norms.

Of the 141 countries that received IMET funding from Fiscal Year 2011 through Fiscal Year 2015, only approximately 7 percent of IMET program participants from those countries were women.

United States international police training programs that are specifically focused on women have proven effective in recruiting and retaining women. In Lebanon, for instance, a Department of State-funded basic cadet course for women was instrumental in helping Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces increase the number of police officers from two to 610.

United States security assistance for peacekeeping builds the capabilities of our partner countries, increases the number of military and police personnel available for deployment to support peace operations, and facilitates the logistical support and deployment of units to peace operations.

Studies demonstrate that the inclusion of higher proportions of female peacekeepers is associated with fewer allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation, as is the inclusion of personnel from countries with better records of gender equality.

Female peacekeepers are uniquely capable of assisting female survivors of sexual violence. Reports demonstrate that victims are more likely to report incidents of abuse to women in the police or military. In Liberia, the presence of a female Indian peacekeeping unit increased reporting of sexual abuse and encouraged the recruitment of women to the national police.

Despite the recognition of the importance of increasing the number of women in peacekeeping operations, according to the United Nations, as of February 2016—

The Global Peace Operations Initiative is a United States security assistance program to train, deploy, and build the capacity of peacekeepers worldwide. Through the Global Peace Operations Initiative, the United States has worked to increase the participation of female peacekeepers in United Nations operations. With dedicated United States assistance, over the last five years, the countries that received assistance under the Global Peace Operations Initiative nearly doubled the number of deployed female military peacekeepers from 1,396 to 2,539. Of the countries that received assistance under the Global Peace Operations Initiative that deploy personnel to peacekeeping missions, as of January 2016—

to recognize and respond to the significant shortage of women at all levels in foreign military and police forces;

to prioritize the identification, engagement, and support of women leaders at all levels in foreign security sectors;

to increase the recruitment, retention, professionalization, and promotion of women in foreign security sectors, specifically in the military and police forces;

to promote the meaningful inclusion and deployment of women in security operations; and

to enhance and expand United States training opportunities for women at all levels in foreign militaries and police forces.