Last week, the United States government issued an Executive Order on Preventing and Responing to Violence Against Women and Girls Globally. This marks the first ever strategy from the United States to make ending violence against women and girls a foreign policy priority.

Federal agencies have been directed to implement a new strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based violence around the world. Objectives of the strategy, according to The White House, offer a "multi-sector approach,":

1) Increased coordination of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts among United States Government agencies and with other stakeholders;

2 ) Enhanced integration of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts into existing United States Government work;

3) Improved collection, analysis, and use of data and research to enhance gender-based violence prevention and response efforts; and

4) Enhanced or expanded United States Government programming that addresses gender-based violence.

The Executive Order also calls for the creation of an interagency working group, which will be co-chaired by the Secretary of State and USAID, and will include representatives from various departments. Issued by President Barack Obama, the strategy is to be updated after three years.