Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Director Jennifer Klein at the One-Year Anniversary Celebration of the National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence

Thank you to everyone for being here and for tuning into the livestream.

My name is Jennifer Klein, and I am Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council.

I have the great fortune of kicking off this exciting meeting to mark the one-year anniversary of the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

This moment represents an opportunity to acknowledge how far we have come, celebrate new achievements, and discuss our next steps as we move forward together.

In this room, I see so many who have been crucial to bringing this movement to where it is today.

Leaders who have championed efforts to address gender-based violence for years—even decades. Previous senior advisors on gender-based violence from across different administrations. And advocates and survivors whose critical efforts have highlighted new issues and intersections related to gender-based violence and ensured that this movement embraces the most vulnerable, including those in marginalized communities.

As you all know, President Biden counts himself as a champion for survivors of gender-based violence—from championing the original Violence Against Women Act, to his leadership on military justice, online harassment and abuse, and more. This September, we’ll also mark thirty years since the passage of the original Violence Against Women Act, which made strides in shifting legal and social burdens away from survivors.

Today, we will highlight new actions agencies have taken to implement the National Plan, serve survivors, and prevent and address gender-based violence.

We are also proud to be releasing today the Final Report and Blueprint of the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse, which catalogues actions taken across this Administration to prevent online harassment and abuse, support survivors, increase accountability, and deepen our understanding of technology-facilitated gender-based violence through research.

While we celebrate these achievements, we also all know that this work continues—whether its responding to the evolving needs of survivors, addressing new forms of violence, or serving communities that have thus far been left behind. But we are, of course, always excited to be doing this work alongside all of you.

Thank you all for being here. And with that, I will pass it over to our Senior Advisor for Gender-Based Violence, Catherine Powell.