A coalition of leading women’s rights organizations is holding the USA to account for failing to protect the rights of women and girls in all their diversity.
A new report by lobby groups advocating for the rights of girls and women has accused the United States government of serious violations of women’s and children’s rights in the country, with fresh calls to the United Nations to intervene and address the matter.
The group, in their report, argues that the US government has, over time, failed to enact laws aimed at ending child marriages, protecting women and girls from female genital mutilation, and promoting laws that seek to prohibit online sexual exploitation and abuse.
The team, made up of groups such as Equality Now, the ERA Coalition, Unchained at Last, the US End FGM/C Network and the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi), also argue that the US Constitution does not explicitly prohibit sex-based discrimination or gender inequality.
In their submission to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva, the group wants the UN to compel the US government to, among other things, enact legislation, such as the Equal Rights Amendment, to protect the rights of women, girls and the vulnerable.
They argue that the Equal Rights Amendment is an amendment to the Constitution that will guarantee the right to sex equality in the law as obligated by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
“Despite meeting all the requirements for ratification, the US government refuses to recognise the ERA as the 28th amendment to the Constitution.
“The ERA will have far-reaching consequences for the rights of people living in the US, including protection from the further roll-back of rights they have won over the years,” the lobby group argues.
Equally, the report notes that cases of child marriages continue to be on the rise in the US, with about 40 states declaring the practice legal, including five states without any minimum age of marriage.
The report adds that at least 300,000 minors were legally married between 2000 and 2018 in the US, some as young as 10.
They argue that child marriage has been considered a valid defence to statutory rape in most US states, with the laws serving to condone child marriage in cases and perpetuate sexual violence.
“We urge you to recommend that the US government prohibits child marriage and set the minimum age of marriage at 18, with no exceptions,” the report argues.
The team also submitted to the UN that approximately 513,000 women and girls in the US have undergone or are at risk of female genital mutilation either in the US or abroad.
Despite a federal law against FGM, they say the practice continues and requires a comprehensive approach to end it. Therefore, they want the UN to recommend implementing FGM laws, strengthening state-level laws, and collecting data on FGM.
The US government has also been asked to address online sexual exploitation and abuse (or OSEA). The report notes that the US is a global technology hub, and approximately 40% of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation are recruited online.
“In 2020, over 80% of the sex trafficking prosecutions involved online advertising. We urge you to recommend that the State ensure that laws that address all forms of OSEA are passed and aligned with international standards, including supporting survivors and vulnerable people,” the group said.
The lobby groups also emphasised the need for the US government to ratify international treaties, including CEDAW, to protect and promote the human rights of all women and girls.
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