Geneva, 25 November 2025 – As the world begins the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling on governments, humanitarian actors, and communities to strengthen efforts to prevent, address, and ultimately eliminate violence against women and girls globally. IOM emphasizes the urgency of placing women and girls at the center of all crisis response efforts, ensuring their protection, dignity, and access to essential services.
Every day, IOM teams encounter women and girls whose experiences reflect the harsh realities of contemporary crises, demonstrating both resilience and vulnerability. In Sudan, a mother endured a six-day journey through conflict zones carrying her daughters. In Djibouti, a teenager arrived alone after being separated from her family along the Eastern migration route. In Mozambique, a pregnant mother witnessed floodwaters destroy her home for the third time in four years. These stories highlight the compounded risks faced by women and girls in conflict, disaster, and displacement settings.
Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General for Operations, stated that women and girls face heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and abuse, often with limited access to services. Daniels emphasized that safeguarding women and girls must remain a central focus in humanitarian responses, noting that while IOM operations prioritize their protection, much more needs to be done to improve safety and support.
Globally, one in three women experiences violence in her lifetime, with the risk rising to 70 percent for women and girls living through conflict, disasters, and displacement. In many countries where protection systems are weakened by crises—such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gaza—women and girls often lack access to reporting mechanisms or essential services.
Along the Eastern migration route, increasing numbers of women and girls face journeys historically dominated by men, exposing them to forced marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other abuses. Despite these challenges, IOM works to establish protection systems, empower local actors, and provide life-saving services, ensuring women and girls have access to care, psychosocial support, and safe spaces.
Operating in 157 countries, IOM collaborates with governments, local women-led organizations, and partners to deliver critical services to those in need. Mobile protection teams identify survivors, provide medical care, psychosocial first aid, and dignity kits, and maintain safe spaces where women and girls can begin to heal and regain agency.
Along migration routes, IOM’s migration response centres offer lifelines, including voluntary return and community reintegration programs. Continuous monitoring of protection risks allows IOM to adapt services and ensure that women and girls do not face dangers alone.
In regions affected by climate-related hazards, IOM assists communities in rebuilding safer homes, strengthening climate-resilient infrastructure, and implementing community protection mechanisms that reduce exposure to risks, including GBV.
As crises intensify and displacement continues to grow, IOM remains committed to upholding the safety, dignity, and agency of women and girls worldwide. The organization continues to advocate for stronger protection systems, greater accountability, and the integration of GBV risk mitigation across all humanitarian operations.
