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The United States is committed to empowering women all over the world. In too many places around the world today women face barriers – barriers to equality, to resources, to opportunities, said USAID's Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator¹ of the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment and Senior Coordinator² for Gender³ Equality and Women's Empowerment, Michelle Bekkering. It could be a barrier to credit, to the connectivity needed to launch a business. And all too frequently, women are hamstrung by gender-based violence, at home or within the community.

美国致力于壮大全球女性的力量。如今，全球有太多地方的女性面临着许多阻碍——阻碍她们享受平等、获取资源和机会，美国国际开发署(USAID)经济发展、教育、环境局的高级副助理局长兼性别平等及增强女性权能的高级协调员米歇尔 贝克林(Michelle Bekkering)如是说道。这可能阻碍诚信，阻碍创业所需要的人脉。而且，无论是在家里，还是在社群内，女性经常因性别暴力而残废。

Gender-based violence takes an enormous toll⁴ on women, on girls, on their families, on communities and countries, said Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator Bekkering:

性别暴力对成年女性、女孩、其家人、其所在社群以及其国家都伤害极大，副助理官员贝克林如是说道。

Gender-based violence, is a pervasive⁵ barrier to global security, to women's empowerment, and to economic growth. It is estimated right now that gender-based violence has cost the world more than five percent of its global GDP, having a greater aggregate⁶ economic impact than war.

无处不在的性别暴力阻碍了全球安全的实现，阻碍了女性的强大，也阻碍了经济发展。现阶段估计，性别暴力损失了全球超过5%的GDP，其对经济造成的总影响比战争还大。

USAID is taking a two-pronged approach to doing away with this scourge⁷: prevention and response. On prevention, we first need to learn what's causing the problem, particularly if the number and severity of incidents spike⁸ within a given region. How do natural disasters compound gender-based violence? What about lack of access to natural resources? What is the impact of local laws?

为了消除性别暴力这个毒瘤，美国国际开发署采取了两手抓的方式：预防和响应。在预防方面，我们首先要知道问题的原因所在，尤其是当某个指定地区大量出现性别暴力事件，并且性质非常严重时。自然灾害如何使性别暴力更加严重呢？很难获取自然资源是不是导致性别暴力的原因呢？当地法律会有什么影响吗？

As part of a response to the problem, we look at the regulatory framework, make sure there are laws that clearly define and punish perpetrators of gender-based violence.

要回答这个问题，我们先看一下规章制度，确保有法律能够明确的对性别暴力的行凶者定罪，并对其进行处罚。

Improving girls' education is a step in the right direction, said Ms. Bekkering. For every additional year that a girl goes to school, she is less likely to be a victim of gender-based violence. So is improving women's access to digital technologies, and ensuring support from local leadership.

贝克林表示，提升女孩的教育是朝向正确途径的一步。一个女孩如果能多上一年学，就少一分成为性别暴力受害者的可能。同理，如果女性能多接触一些数码科技，多一些从当地领导班子获得支持的肯定性，也会少一分成为性别暴力受害者的可能。

U.S. Congress appropriates a combined 150 million dollars to the State Department and to USAID for the global effort to address gender-based violence. It also provides appropriations⁹ for combating child, early, and forced marriage, which are closely linked to gender-based violence. Since 2012, USAID has provided critical services to over five million survivors¹⁰ and persons at risk of GBV.

美国国会共计拨出1.5亿美元给国务院和国际开发署，用于其解决全球范围内性别暴力的问题。国会还拨出了一些资金，用于打击童婚、早婚、逼婚行为，这些都与性别暴力密切相关。自2012年以来，国际开发署已经向500多万面临性别暴力的幸存者提供了关键的服务。

Women and girls, said Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator Bekkering, should be safe from the threat of violence in their homes, in their communities, and they should have access to education and health care – and opportunities to live up to their full economic potential.

高级副助理局长贝克林表示，无论是在家还是当地社群，女性都不该受到暴力的威胁。而且他们应该上学，应该获得医疗服务——应该有机会充分实现他们的经济潜力。