New York: Europe and the Arabs
UN Women reported that significant cuts in government aid are putting more women and girls at risk and dismantling "organizations essential to ending violence" against them.
According to a new report by UN Women, more than a third of the 428 women's rights and civil society organizations surveyed globally have suspended or halted programs to end violence against women and girls, while more than 40% have reduced or closed life-saving services, such as shelters, legal aid, psychosocial support, and healthcare, due to direct funding gaps.
In addition, 78% of the organizations surveyed reported reduced access to essential services for survivors, while 59% observed "an increase in impunity and the normalization of violence."
Kaliopi Mengiru, Head of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Unit at UN Women, called on governments to increase and make their funding more flexible. She added: "Women's rights organizations are the backbone of progress on violence against women, yet they are being pushed to the brink. We cannot allow funding cuts to erase decades of hard-won gains." According to the UN's daily news bulletin, it added, "Violence against women and girls remains one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide. An estimated 736 million women—nearly one in three—have experienced physical or sexual violence, often at the hands of an intimate partner.
Women's Rights and Equality – 30 Years of Achievements and Failures: What Does the Road Ahead Look Like?
UN Women had previously warned that most women-led organizations in crisis settings face severe funding cuts, with nearly half at risk of closure—a warning echoed in the findings of the report released Monday.
UN Women reported that the funding shortfall coincides with a growing backlash against women's rights in one in four countries worldwide. It noted that as organizations lose funding, many are forced to focus solely on essential services "rather than long-term advocacy that delivers real change."
The new report comes as the world celebrates 30 years of The Beijing Platform for Action, a progressive roadmap agreed upon by governments to achieve gender equality and women's rights, at the core of which was ending violence against women.