Recognizing that “there are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS,
including more than 290,000 women,” and that the “domestic epidemic
disproportionately affects women of color, with African Americans
and Latinas constituting over 70 percent of new HIV cases in
women,” today, President Obama announced he has established a Working Group on the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Gender-related Health Disparities.

 

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

 

For Immediate Release

March 30, 2012

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Establishing a Working Group on the Intersection of
HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women and Girls, and
Gender-related Health Disparities

Throughout our country, the spread of HIV/AIDS has had a
devastating impact on many communities. In the United States,
there are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS,
including more than 290,000 women. Women and girls now account
for 24 percent of all diagnoses of HIV infection among
United States adults and adolescents. The domestic epidemic
disproportionately affects women of color, with African Americans
and Latinas constituting over 70 percent of new HIV cases in
women. The spread of HIV/AIDS is, in and of itself, a primary
concern to my Administration. However, gender-based violence
and gender-related health disparities cannot be ignored when
addressing the domestic public health threat of HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS programs often ignore the biological differences and
the social, economic, and cultural inequities that make women
and girls more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. In our country, women
and girls are all too frequently victimized by domestic violence
and sexual assault, which can lead to greater risk for acquiring
this disease. Teenage girls and young women ages 16-24 face
the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault.
In addition, challenges in accessing proper health care can
present obstacles to addressing HIV/AIDS. Gender-based violence
continues to be an underreported, common problem that, if
ignored, increases risks for HIV and may prevent women and
girls from seeking prevention, treatment, and health services.

My Administration is committed to improving efforts to understand
and address the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against women
and girls, and gender-related health disparities. To do so,
executive departments and agencies (agencies) must build on
their current work addressing the intersection of these issues by
improving data collection, research, intervention strategies, and
training. In order to develop a comprehensive Government-wide
approach to these issues that is data-driven, uses effective
prevention and care interventions, engages families and
communities, supports research and data collection, and mobilizes
both public and private sector resources, I direct the following:
Section 1. Working Group on the Intersection of HIV/AIDS,
Violence Against Women and Girls, and Gender-related Health
Disparities. There is established within the Executive Office
of the President a Working Group on the Intersection of HIV/AIDS,
Violence Against Women and Girls, and Gender-related Health
Disparities (Working Group), to be co-chaired by the White House
Advisor on Violence Against Women and the Director of the Office
of National AIDS Policy (Co-Chairs). Within 60 days of the date
of this memorandum, the Co-Chairs shall convene the first meeting
of the Working Group.
(a) In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Working Group shall
consist of representatives from:
(i) the Department of Justice;
(ii) the Department of the Interior;
(iii) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(iv) the Department of Education;
(v) the Department of Homeland Security;
(vi) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(vii) the Department of Housing and Urban
Development; and
(viii) the Office of Management and Budget.
(b) The Working Group shall consult with the Presidential
Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, as appropriate.
(c) The Department of State, the United States Agency for
International Development, and the President’s Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief Gender Technical Working Group shall act in an
advisory capacity to the Working Group, providing information on
lessons learned and evidence-based best practices based on their
global experience addressing issues involving the intersection
between HIV/AIDS and violence against women.
Sec. 2. Mission and Functions of the Working Group. (a)
The Working Group shall coordinate agency efforts to address
issues involving the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against
women and girls, and gender-related health disparities. Such
efforts shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) increasing government and public awareness
of the need to address the intersection of HIV/AIDS,
violence against women and girls, and gender-related
health disparities, including sexual and reproductive
health and access to health care;
(ii) sharing best practices, including demonstration
projects and international work by agencies, as well
as successful gender-specific strategies aimed at
addressing risks that influence women’s and girls’
vulnerability to HIV infection and violence;
(iii) integrating sexual and reproductive health
services, gender-based violence services, and HIV/AIDS
services, where research demonstrates that doing so
will result in improved and sustained health outcomes;

(iv) emphasizing evidence-based prevention
activities that engage men and boys and highlight their
role in the prevention of violence against women and
HIV/AIDS infection;
(v) facilitating opportunities for partnerships
among diverse organizations from the violence against
women and girls, HIV/AIDS, and women’s health
communities to address the intersection of these
issues;
(vi) ensuring that the needs of vulnerable and
underserved groups are considered in any efforts to
address issues involving the intersection of HIV/AIDS,
violence against women and girls, and gender-related
health disparities;
(vii) promoting research to better understand the
intersection of the biological, behavioral, and social
sciences bases for the relationship between increased
HIV/AIDS risk, domestic violence, and gender-related
health disparities; and
(viii) prioritizing, as appropriate, the efforts
described in paragraphs (a)(i)-(vii) of this section
with respect to women and girls of color, who represent
the majority of females living with and at risk for HIV
infection in the United States.
(b) The Working Group shall annually provide the President
recommendations for updating the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
In addition, the Working Group shall provide information on:
(i) coordinated actions taken by the Working Group
to meet its objectives and identify areas where the
Federal Government has achieved integration and
coordination in addressing the intersection of
HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls, and
gender-related health disparities;
(ii) alternative means of making available
gender-sensitive health care for women and girls
through the integration of HIV/AIDS prevention and
care services with intimate partner violence prevention
and counseling as well as mental health and trauma
services;
(iii) specific, evidence-based goals for addressing
HIV among women, including HIV-related disparities
among women of color, to inform the National HIV/AIDS
Strategy Implementation Plan (for its biannual review);
(iv) research and data collection needs regarding
HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls, and
gender-related health disparities to help develop more
comprehensive data and targeted research (disaggregated
by sex, gender, and gender identity, where
practicable); and
(v) existing partnerships and potential areas of
collaboration with other public or nongovernmental
actors, taking into consideration the types of
implementation or research objectives that other
public or nongovernmental actors may be particularly
well-situated to accomplish.
Sec. 3. Outreach. Consistent with the objectives of this
memorandum and applicable law, the Working Group, in addition
to regular meetings, shall conduct outreach with representatives
of private and nonprofit organizations, State, tribal, and local
government agencies, elected officials, and other interested
persons to assist the Working Group in developing a detailed
set of recommendations.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) The heads of agencies
shall assist and provide information to the Working Group,
consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to carry out
the functions of the Working Group. Each agency and office shall
bear its own expense for carrying out activities related to the
Working Group.
(b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair
or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive
department, 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.
(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 Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA
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