Gender Equality
  • 5.1.1 Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex
  • 5.1.2 Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earning
  • 5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
  • 5.2.2 Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence
  • 5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18
  • 5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age
  • 5.4.1 Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
  • 5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments
  • 5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions
  • 5.6.1 Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care
  • 5.6.2 Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education
  • 5.a.1 (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
  • 5.a.2 Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control
  • 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex
  • 5.c.1 Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment

    • 5.6.2 Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education

    Interpersonal Violence: School District Interventions

    When a student is impacted by interpersonal violence, their performance and ability to engage in quality education is limited. Schools have the ability to mitigate interpersonal violence by providing educational resources on the signs of abuse, resources for survivors of abuse, and preventative measures that identify warning signs of abuse early and provide access to relevant support systems. By raising awareness about what domestic violence entails early, students are more likely to know what to do if a violent situation occurs and what resources are commonly available for survivors. Many advocacy organizations include educational materials for children and students to increase awareness for domestic violence, understand support systems available in their community, and learn healthy mechanisms for dealing with trauma. Examples of these organizations are the Child Welfare Information Gateway, which provides multiple factsheets on domestic violence and trauma education, and Women’s Advocates, which provides a mini series and educational materials meant for schools relating to domestic violence. Sex education programs are another primary way to introduce domestic violence awareness through teaching principles of consent, harrassment, and strategies for preventing and escaping physical violence within a relationship.

    In DC, the government partners with a non-profit organization called Break the Cycle, which provides educational programs for persons aged 12 to 24 on domestic violence, support systems, and factors that can influence healthy relationships. The DC Department of Human Services also has the Domestic Violence Supports program, which has various educational resources for children and young adults. DC does not currently have a requirement for sex education as part of a curriculum in schools, the DC Healthy Schools Act, passed in 2010, expanded health education in DC schools, including sex education. Advocates such as SIECUS advise educators to use guidelines published in the Sexual Health Curriculum Review Guidance, published by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in 2017, and provides toolkits for advocating for required sex education in schools. Within these guidelines, domestic violence is a small component of the curriculum, with the focus being on consent and understanding traditional gender roles.

    In Maryland, sexual education is required as part of the school’s curriculum and is required to advocate that abstinence is the best method for preventing unintended pregnancies or STIs. This curriculum does not require instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation, but in 2016 Maryland passed House Bill 72, which required instruction on sexual assault prevention and abuse. Consent is also a required component of sexual education in Maryland. In Virginia, health education is required, but sex education is not included in this requirement. Sex education in Virginia is not required to be comprehensive and must emphasize abstinence as the best method for preventing unplanned pregnancies and STIs. While consent is a required component of sexual education, gender identity and sexuality is not. In the 2019 session of the Virginia Legislature, several bills were passed that advocate for the inclusion of personal privacy, consent and sexual harassment, human trafficking, and female genital mutilation as components of sex education, but there is currently no required component for domestic violence as part of the sex education curriculum.