2025 | UNFPA

Since 2024, UNFPA has significantly expanded its work on data to end violence against women (VAW), with a strong focus on strengthening measurement, capacity, and global comparability. 

• Central to this effort is the scaling up of the kNOwVAWdata initiative, which equips governments, researchers, and civil society with tools to collect and use ethical, high-quality VAW data. The initiative has been globalized beyond its initial regional Asia Pacific focus and has been adapted to the African, Latin American, Arabic and Central European specific realities. Training is now also accessible online, making it accessible to practitioners across the globe. In 2025, a major milestone was the finalization of the Harmful Practices module, covering child marriage, female genital mutilation, and gender-biased sex selection. This expanded the methodological scope of kNOwVAWdata and strengthened its contribution to SDG monitoring. Through the support of the University of Melbourne and the American University in Central Asia practitioners have been trained   globally and numerous countries supported in implementing VAW prevalence surveys and strengthening national data systems.
• UNFPA has also contributed to global VAW estimates by supporting WHO in the development and refinement of these datasets.
• In parallel, UNFPA has begun advancing the measurement of technology-facilitated violence against women (TFVAW), working with UN Women and WHO to develop a global statistical framework.
• In humanitarian settings, UNFPA continues to lead the Inter-Agency GBV Information Management System initiative including UNICEF, UNHCR, IMC and IRC supporting strengthened case management through safe and ethical data collection.
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, UNFPA has developed two documents providing technical guidance and recommendations to strengthen the generation of data on gender-based violence (GBV): one focused on administrative records and another on GBV prevalence surveys.
• UNFPA ASRO and ESCWA conducted qualitative research “Breaking the Silence: Addressing Elder Abuse in the Arab Region”. The report aims to fill critical knowledge gaps, raise awareness, and provide actionable policy recommendations. The report calls for collective action-by governments, civil society, and international organizations to ensure that older persons, including elder women,  are not only protected from abuse but also enabled to live with dignity, autonomy, and full participation in society.
• UNFPA ASRO finalized a comprehensive desk review on disability inclusion (2022–2025), mapping progress in integrating persons with disabilities,   especially women and girls, into SRH and GBV programming. Key achievements included technical support to the regional disability classification roadmap, rollout of the “We Decide” framework, and high-level advocacy with the League of Arab States.
• UNFPA ASRO translated evidence into action by leading UNFPA ASRO - UNICEF national consultations on the Child Marriage in Humanitarian Settings (CMiHS) study, incorporating inputs from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. The study’s regional launch in July 2025 informed country workplans, advocacy priorities, and technical guidance for 2026–2027 programming.