Fuentes underscored that the persecution of women goes beyond physical abuse.
"In these Muslim-dominated countries, Christian women are systematically deprived of their freedom to live and are denied basic human necessities," she explained. "They do not have access to proper health care, nutrition or education."
"Surviving is all about strategically going about their day and taking extra precautions like traveling with a male relative," Fuentes added. "In some cases, it is easy for them to make small inconvenient plans. But most times, there is no solution--which puts women at grave risk daily."
Fuentes said knowledge of this situation is lacking.
"There definitely needs to be a lot more education and advocacy on behalf of women who are facing persecution all over the world," she said. "It is vital to assess international aid and relations with different governments to see how they are treating Christian women."
She said it's necessary to say that "persecuting women and people of faith is unacceptable."
In March, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously voted on a resolution against the actions of the Islamic State Group against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East. The resolution officially recognized these acts as "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide."
But Olivia Enos, research associate in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, told CNA that identifying the problem is only the first step.
"The Obama administration has not made this issue a priority," she said April 21. "It's great that the U.S. government has identified these atrocities as genocide, but it really hasn't done much to follow-up on this designation. If we want to demonstrate that religious freedom is something our government really cares about, then there should be next steps and action items."
Enos said that only a more comprehensive approach can resolve this "ethnic cleansing."
"Oftentimes, human rights issues are viewed in isolation from broader national security concerns when they really should be viewed as complementary to those efforts," she said. "Advancing national security interests should never be to the detriment of human rights. A safe country is tolerant of different religions."
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"When you don't defend religious freedom, you have severe human rights abuses," Enos added. "It is not just religious freedom for women or one group of people, it is religious freedom for all."