From 2022 to 2025, UN Women has worked across 105 countries to address violence against women and girls (VAWG), a crisis affecting one in three women globally. Despite advances in laws, policies, and services, persistent gender inequality and underfunding continue to fuel this violence. UN Women’s approach spans prevention, survivor support, legal reform, data strengthening, and the empowerment of civil society and women’s rights movements to drive systemic change and end violence in all its forms.
Comprehensive laws and policies are central to UN Women’s strategy, as they create frameworks for coordinated, multi-sectoral responses. The organization contributed to developing global normative standards through intergovernmental processes, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the General Assembly, and the Human Rights Council. Efforts included addressing VAWG in digital spaces, linking the issue to climate change, innovation, and financing, and promoting survivor-centred approaches to conflict-related sexual violence. National-level support included Kazakhstan, where UN Women’s technical assistance led to legal reforms criminalizing domestic violence, strengthening child protection, and enhancing evidence-gathering by law enforcement. These reforms, combined with Family Support Centres, are expected to benefit over 10 million women and girls. Evidence shows that countries with comprehensive prevention and response measures have intimate partner violence rates 2.5 times lower, and 1.44 billion women and girls now live in countries with national or local multisectoral strategies addressing VAWG.
Prevention of violence focuses on tackling structural drivers such as gender-based discrimination, harmful social norms, and stereotypes. UN Women-supported initiatives demonstrate the effectiveness of engaging men and boys to challenge harmful masculinities and promote gender-equitable behaviours. Programs like Safe Cities and Public Spaces have shown measurable impact, reducing sexual harassment in Quito, enhancing safety in Port Moresby markets, and improving mobility for women in Cairo. Currently, 1.99 billion women and girls live in countries where evidence-based programs addressing harmful social and gender norms have been implemented at community and organizational levels.
UN Women emphasizes survivor-centred responses to ensure timely access to protection, justice, and multi-sectoral services. Coordinated health, justice, and social services increase help-seeking and accountability. Globally, 1.6 billion women and girls live in countries where access to services after experiencing violence has increased, while 2.34 billion benefit from strengthened national and subnational capacities to deliver essential services and resources to survivors.
Data collection and evidence generation remain critical to informing policies and programs. UN Women supported 41 VAWG data initiatives and strengthened the capacities of women’s machineries and national statistical offices in 21 countries, covering 395 million women and girls. By making data accessible and promoting its use by governments, civil society, and other stakeholders, UN Women ensures policies and advocacy are evidence-based and targeted effectively.
Finally, UN Women invests in movements to end VAWG, recognizing that strong, autonomous women’s rights organizations are the most critical drivers of sustained progress. By providing long-term, flexible resources and safeguarding civic space, these movements can maintain essential services, lead advocacy, and develop inclusive solutions to combat violence against women and girls.
