§ 12291. Definitions and grant provisions

Pub. L. 109–162, title II, § 201, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 2993, provided that: “Congress finds the following: “(1) Nearly ⅓ of American women report physical or sexual abuse by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. “(2) According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 248,000 Americans 12 years of age and older were raped or sexually assaulted in 2002. “(3) Rape and sexual assault in the United States is estimated to cost $127,000,000,000 per year, including—“(A) lost productivity; “(B) medical and mental health care; “(C) police and fire services; “(D) social services; “(E) loss of and damage to property; and “(F) reduced quality of life. “(4) Nonreporting of sexual assault in rural areas is a particular problem because of the high rate of nonstranger sexual assault. “(5) Geographic isolation often compounds the problems facing sexual assault victims. The lack of anonymity and accessible support services can limit opportunities for justice for victims. “(6) Domestic elder abuse is primarily family abuse. The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study found that the perpetrator was a family member in 90 percent of cases. “(7) Barriers for older victims leaving abusive relationships include—“(A) the inability to support themselves; “(B) poor health that increases their dependence on the abuser; “(C) fear of being placed in a nursing home; and “(D) ineffective responses by domestic abuse programs and law enforcement. “(8) Disabled women comprise another vulnerable population with unmet needs. Women with disabilities are more likely to be the victims of abuse and violence than women without disabilities because of their increased physical, economic, social, or psychological dependence on others. “(9) Many women with disabilities also fail to report the abuse, since they are dependent on their abusers and fear being abandoned or institutionalized. “(10) Of the 598 battered women’s programs surveyed—“(A) only 35 percent of these programs offered disability awareness training for their staff; and “(B) only 16 percent dedicated a staff member to provide services to women with disabilities. “(11) Problems of domestic violence are exacerbated for immigrants when spouses control the immigration status of their family members, and abusers use threats of refusal to file immigration papers and threats to deport spouses and children as powerful tools to prevent battered immigrant women from seeking help, trapping battered immigrant women in violent homes because of fear of deportation. “(12) Battered immigrant women who attempt to flee abusive relationships may not have access to bilingual shelters or bilingual professionals, and face restrictions on public or financial assistance. They may also lack assistance of a certified interpreter in court, when reporting complaints to the police or a 9–1–1 operator, or even in acquiring information about their rights and the legal system. “(13) More than 500 men and women call the National Domestic Violence Hotline every day to get immediate, informed, and confidential assistance to help deal with family violence. “(14) The National Domestic Violence Hotline service is available, toll-free, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with bilingual staff, access to translators in 150 languages, and a TTY line for the hearing-impaired. “(15) With access to over 5,000 shelters and service providers across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands, the National Domestic Violence Hotline provides crisis intervention and immediately connects callers with sources of help in their local community. “(16) Approximately 60 percent of the callers indicate that calling the Hotline is their first attempt to address a domestic violence situation and that they have not called the police or any other support services. “(17) Between 2000 and 2003, there was a 27 percent increase in call volume at the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “(18) Improving technology infrastructure at the National Domestic Violence Hotline and training advocates, volunteers, and other staff on upgraded technology will drastically increase the Hotline’s ability to answer more calls quickly and effectively.”

Pub. L. 109–162, title III, § 301, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3003, provided that: “Congress finds the following: “(1) Youth, under the age of 18, account for 67 percent of all sexual assault victimizations reported to law enforcement officials. “(2) The Department of Justice consistently finds that young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of non-fatal intimate partner violence. “(3) In 1 year, over 4,000 incidents of rape or sexual assault occurred in public schools across the country. “(4) Young people experience particular obstacles to seeking help. They often do not have access to money, transportation, or shelter services. They must overcome issues such as distrust of adults, lack of knowledge about available resources, or pressure from peers and parents. “(5) A needs assessment on teen relationship abuse for the State of California, funded by the California Department of Health Services, identified a desire for confidentiality and confusion about the law as 2 of the most significant barriers to young victims of domestic and dating violence seeking help. “(6) Only one State specifically allows for minors to petition the court for protection orders. “(7) Many youth are involved in dating relationships, and these relationships can include the same kind of domestic violence and dating violence seen in the adult population. In fact, more than 40 percent of all incidents of domestic violence involve people who are not married. “(8) 40 percent of girls ages 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend, and 13 percent of college women report being stalked. “(9) Of college women who said they had been the victims of rape or attempted rape, 12.8 percent of completed rapes, 35 percent of attempted rapes, and 22.9 percent of threatened rapes took place on a date. Almost 60 percent of the completed rapes that occurred on campus took place in the victim’s residence. “(10) According to a 3-year study of student-athletes at 10 Division I universities, male athletes made up only 3.3 percent of the general male university population, but they accounted for 19 percent of the students reported for sexual assault and 35 percent of domestic violence perpetrators.”

Definitions and Grant Conditions

Pub. L. 117–103, div. W, § 2(b), Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 846, provided that: “Section 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291) shall apply to this Act [div. W of Pub. L. 107–103, see Tables for classification] and any grant program authorized under this Act.”

Executive Documents

Establishment of the White House Task Force To Address Online Harassment and Abuse

Memorandum of President of the United States, June 16, 2022, 87 F.R. 37431, provided:

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to improve efforts to prevent and address online harassment and abuse, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Technology platforms and social media can be vital tools for expression, civic participation, and building a sense of community. But the scale, reach, and amplification effects of technology platforms have also exacerbated gender-based violence, particularly through online harassment and abuse. Online harassment and abuse include a broad array of harmful and sometimes illegal behaviors that are perpetrated through the use of technology. Women, adolescent girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals, who may be additionally targeted because of their race, ethnicity, religion, and other factors, can experience more severe harms from online harassment and abuse. Online harassment and abuse take many forms, including the non-consensual distribution of intimate digital images; cyberstalking; sextortion; doxing; malicious deep fakes; gendered disinformation; rape and death threats; the online recruitment and exploitation of victims of sex trafficking; and various forms of technology-facilitated intimate partner abuse. In the United States, 1 in 3 women under the age of 35 reports having been sexually harassed online, and over half of LGBTQI+ individuals report having been the target of severe online abuse, including sustained harassment, physical threats, and stalking in addition to sexual harassment. Globally, half of girls report that they are more likely to be harassed through social media than on the street.

In the United States and around the world, women and LGBTQI+ political leaders, public figures, activists, and journalists are especially targeted by sexualized forms of online harassment and abuse, undermining their ability to exercise their human rights and participate in democracy, governance, and civic life. Online abuse and harassment, which aim to preclude women from political decision-making about their own lives and communities, undermine the functioning of democracy. Growing evidence also demonstrates that online radicalization can be linked to gender-based violence, which, along with other forms of abuse and harassment, spans the digital and physical realms. Online harassment and abuse can result in a range of dire consequences for victims, from psychological distress and self-censorship to economic losses, disruptions to education, increased self-harm, suicide, homicide, and other forms of physical and sexual violence. Further, digital technologies are often used in concert with other forms of abuse and harassment, underscoring the urgency of addressing the interplay of in-person and online harms. More research is needed to fully understand the nature, magnitude, and costs of these harms and ways to address them in the United States and globally.

Therefore, I am directing the Director of the White House Gender Policy Council and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs to lead an interagency effort to address online harassment and abuse, specifically focused on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and to develop concrete recommendations to improve prevention, response, and protection efforts through programs and policies in the United States and globally.

Sec. 2. Establishment. There is established within the Executive Office of the President the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse (Task Force).

Sec. 3. Membership. (a) The Director of the White House Gender Policy Council and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, or their designees, shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Task Force.

(b) In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Task Force shall consist of the following members:

(i) the Secretary of State;

(ii) the Secretary of Defense;

(iii) the Attorney General;

(iv) the Secretary of Commerce;

(v) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;

(vi) the Secretary of Education;

(vii) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;

(viii) the Secretary of Homeland Security;

(ix) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;

(x) the Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council;

(xi) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council;

(xii) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development;

(xiii) the Counsel to the President;

(xiv) the Counsel to the Vice President; and

(xv) the heads of such other executive departments, agencies, and offices as the Co-Chairs may, from time to time, designate.

(c) A member of the Task Force may designate, to perform the Task Force functions of the member, senior officials within the member’s executive department, agency, or office who are full-time officers or employees of the Federal Government.

Sec. 4. Mission and Function. (a) The Task Force shall work across executive departments, agencies, and offices to assess and address online harassment and abuse that constitute technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including by:

(i) improving coordination among executive departments, agencies, and offices to maximize the Federal Government’s effectiveness in preventing and addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the United States and globally, including by developing policy solutions to enhance accountability for those who perpetrate online harms;

(ii) enhancing and expanding data collection and research across the Federal Government to measure the costs, prevalence, exposure to, and impact of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including by studying the mental health effects of abuse on social media, particularly affecting adolescents;

(iii) increasing access to survivor-centered services, information, and support for victims, and increasing training and technical assistance for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments as well as for global organizations and entities in the fields of criminal justice, health and mental health services, education, and victim services;

(iv) developing programs and policies to address online harassment, abuse, and disinformation campaigns targeting women and LGBTQI+ individuals who are public and political figures, government and civic leaders, activists, and journalists in the United States and globally;

(v) examining existing Federal laws, regulations, and policies to evaluate the adequacy of the current legal framework to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence; and

(vi) identifying additional opportunities to improve efforts to prevent and address technology-facilitated gender-based violence in United States foreign policy and foreign assistance, including through the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse.

(b) Consistent with the objectives of this memorandum and applicable law, the Task Force may consult with and gather relevant information from external stakeholders, including Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial government officials, as well as victim advocates, survivors, law enforcement personnel, researchers and academics, civil and human rights groups, philanthropic leaders, technology experts, legal and international policy experts, industry stakeholders, and other entities and persons the Task Force identifies that will assist the Task Force in accomplishing the objectives of this memorandum.

Sec. 5. Reporting on the Work and Recommendations of the Task Force. (a) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum [June 16, 2022], the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall submit to the President a blueprint (Initial Blueprint) outlining a whole-of-government approach to preventing and addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including concrete actions that executive departments, agencies, and offices have committed to take to implement the Task Force’s recommendations. The Initial Blueprint shall include a synopsis of key lessons from stakeholder consultations and preliminary recommendations for advancing strategies to improve efforts to prevent and address technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Following submission of the Initial Blueprint to the President, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall make an executive summary of the Initial Blueprint publicly available.

(b) Within 1 year of the date that the Initial Blueprint is submitted to the President, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall submit to the President and make publicly available an update and report (1-Year Report) with additional recommendations and actions that executive departments, agencies, and offices can take to advance how Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; service providers; international organizations; technology platforms; schools; and other public and private entities can improve efforts to prevent and address technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

(c) Prior to issuing its Initial Blueprint and 1-Year Report, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall consolidate any input received and submit periodic recommendations to the President on policies, regulatory actions, and legislation on technology sector accountability to address systemic harms to people affected by online harassment and abuse.

(d) Following the submission of the 1-Year Report to the President, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall, on an annual basis, submit a follow-up report to the President on implementation of this memorandum.

Sec. 6. Definition. For the purposes of this memorandum, the term “technology-facilitated gender-based violence” shall refer to any form of gender-based violence, including harassment and abuse, which takes place through, or is aided by, the use of digital technologies and devices.

Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall not apply to independent regulatory agencies as described in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States Code. Independent regulatory agencies are nevertheless strongly encouraged to participate in the work of the Task Force.

(c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(e) The Attorney General is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.