By: Julia Drost, Amnesty International USA Women’s Human Rights Program

A human rights abuse epidemic is happening right now in every corner of the globe. It has manifested in Mexico where twenty six women were sexually assaulted by police in San Salvador Atenco.

It has manifested in Guatemala when 15 year old María Isabel Franco was raped and brutally killed, and in Afghanistan where a women’s rights advocate was murdered in the street. And it has manifested in Chicago where nearly 1 in 5 Chicago youth experience violence in a dating relationship.

Violence devastates the lives of millions of women and girls worldwide every year. One out of every three women will be physically, sexually or otherwise abused during her lifetime. The right to live free from violence is part of a broader set of sexual and reproductive rights that Amnesty International is working to protect through its My Body My Rights campaign.

As we observe International Women’s Day on March 8th, it is time to take action to make the one in three become none in three.

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) would make ending violence against women and girls globally a priority for the United States by improving and better coordinating existing U.S. foreign assistance efforts to stop the global crisis of violence.

On International Women’s Day, please take the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of women and girls around the world. Ask where the Chicago-area Members of Congress stand on IVAWA and encourage your representatives to support the bill.