Executive Order 13623: Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls Globally
President: Barack Obama
Required a government-wide strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in US foreign policy and assistance.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13623 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13623 remains unrevoked in the Federal Register disposition table and contains continuing agency coordination and strategy-review duties. The State Department identified it as a mandate for the 2022 strategy; that later strategy and current foreign-assistance policy do not themselves revoke the original order. Sources: Federal Register 2012 executive order disposition table, EO 13623; Signed Executive Order 13623; State Department, 2022 global gender-based violence strategy.
What does Executive Order 13623 do?
EO 13623 directed agencies to integrate prevention of gender-based violence into diplomacy, development, humanitarian relief, training and program evaluation. It required an interagency working group and periodic updates to the United States strategy. The order has not been expressly revoked, but its 2012 strategy has been replaced by later strategies and national plans, and present implementation depends on current foreign-assistance and gender-policy decisions.
Before and after
Before the order
Agencies had programs addressing violence but lacked a durable government-wide strategy and coordination mandate.
After the order
Departments incorporated prevention, survivor services, accountability and evidence into country and program planning.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| State and USAID | Lead strategy and program implementation | Subject to current policy |
| Interagency working group | Coordinate agency plans and measurement | Later arrangements superseded |
| Federal agencies abroad | Integrate risk prevention and response where authorized | Continuing in changing form |
What happened next
EO 13623 issued with the first US strategy.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Foreign Assistance Act authorities, annual appropriations and program statutes control spending. The order expressly disclaims enforceable private rights.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- State Department — 2022 US strategy (opens in a new tab) Official record
- White House — 2023 National Plan (opens in a new tab) Official record
- USAID — gender-based violence (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 15, 2026. How we research →