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Lehmann draws dark and fundamental parallels between gender and sexual violence--from war torn villages to major American cities. But there is hope and still time for the United States to be a leader in the international effort to end this epidemic.
Heidi Lehmann is an internationally-recognized expert on violence against women and girls in conflict zones. She has over twelve years experience in the U.S., Africa, and Asia; her work as a public health professional has taken her to some of the worst conflict zones in recent history, including Sierra Leone, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia. Today Lehmann heads the International Rescue Committee's Gender-Based Violence Technical Unit, working to help the IRC build a reputation as a pioneer in gender-based violence programming in over 13 countries. Spending almost half of her time outside the U.S., she leads IRC's work on key policy, programming, and advocacy issues related to gender-based violence, participates on various United Nations working groups, and is often called on to brief members of Congress. Before joining the IRC, Heidi worked as a victims' advocate and in jails, facilitating groups for men and women arrested for domestic violence and training law enforcement personnel.
