United Nations Population Fund

UNFPA works largely in implementing prevention programmes that transform gender and social norms, as the root causes of gender-based violence. UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, led the development of the social norms manual. UNFPA works on comprehensive sexuality education as a GBV prevention strategy in more than 95 countries.  In December 2020, under the Spotlight Programme in the Pacific - comprising 11 island states - UNFPA launched the 2020 International Technical and Programmatic Guidance on Out-of-School Comprehensive Sexuality Education, which has created a momentum across the region at the highest possible levels of political and faith-based leadership. In June 2021, UNFPA and the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities organized a webinar with almost 300 attendees, on GBV prevention through CSE and the importance of engaging religious leaders and faith-based organizations.

 

UNFPA prevention efforts take an inclusive approach by engaging with men and boys and promoting positive masculinities that challenge gender inequality in 107 countries. Similarly, UNFPA implements gender-transformative programmes in 114 regional and country offices across all regions.

UNFPA GBV prevention efforts are guided by the RESPECT framework, co-produced with WHO and UN Women in 2019. 

UNFPA, in partnership with other UN agencies and organisations, supports more than 20 countries to implement programmes aimed at eliminating and ending harmful practices. 

The Ending Female Genital Mutilation Programme applies a gender-transformative approach to eliminate FGM, through which since 2008 30,182 communities, representing 42.4 million people, have publicly declared the abandonment of the practice, while 35.9 million people have participated in education, sensitization, and social mobilization sessions; and 69.6 million listeners have been reached through radio and TV programmes that promote the elimination of FGM.

The Global Programme to End Child Marriage since 2016 has empowered 7.2 million adolescent girls; provided education support to 500,000 adolescent girls; reached 4.2 million individuals through community dialogue and 31 million through media campaigns; assisted 24,000 facilities to implement adolescent girl-friendly health and protection services; and, enabled 22,000 schools to strengthen adolescent girl-friendly education.

UNFPA is also widely engaged in advocacy efforts and awareness-raising through online and offline activities. UNFPA is partnering with the Center for Women’s Global Leadership to advance the 16 Days Campaign, with a renewed focus on shifting from 16 days of activism to 365 days of accountability. And in advancing the GBV Disruptor initiative and the social media campaign - #IAmAGBVDisruptor.

Following the Generation Equality Forum in 2021, where UNFPA led the Action Coalition on Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, a number of commitments were made to advance bodily autonomy, eliminate harmful practices and end GBV, including to empower women and girls in all of their diversity to make autonomous decisions about their bodies, sexuality and reproduction; and to end child marriage and female genital mutilation by scaling up what works. UNFPA also participates in the Gender-based violence action coalition and it’s committed to strengthen availability of and capacity to use data for ending GBV; to strengthen multi-stakeholder services to support victims and survivors of gender-based violence; and to strengthen prevention of gender-based violence.

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UNFPA plays a crucial role in supporting international legal and policy development on GBV through its active contribution to global frameworks, advocacy for key resolutions, and provision of technical expertise to shape international policies. 

Key Contributions and Global Frameworks 

• UN SG Reports on GBV: Given UNFPA’s extensive operational presence, it is a key contributor to the UN Secretary-General’s reports on GBV, ensuring the inclusion of critical data, analysis, and evidence to inform global policy decisions. 
• Special Representatives’ Reports: UNFPA also contributes to the reports of the Special Representatives on Violence Against Women and on Sexual Violence in Conflict, ensuring that programming realities, knowledge, and best practices from its operations in over 150 countries are reflected. 
• Support for Treaty Bodies and Frameworks: UNFPA contributes to international frameworks such as the Beijing Platform for Action, CEDAW, and other treaty body reporting mechanisms, ensuring that GBV is consistently addressed in international legal instruments. Additionally, UNFPA supports the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and other relevant UN Human Rights Council resolutions on GBV. 
• Advocacy for National Legal Integration: UNFPA advocates for the integration of GBV prevention and response into national laws and policies, collaborating with governments to ensure that legal frameworks align with international human rights standards, and that the rights of women and girls are upheld globally. 

Global and regional Initiatives 

• Guidance on Technology-Facilitated GBV: In partnership with Derechos Digitales, UNFPA developed a Guidance for Rights-based Law Reform to address Technology-Facilitated GBV. This is a crucial step in shaping legal responses to emerging forms of violence. 
• AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls: In 2024, UNFPA supported the African Union (AU) in developing a landmark Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls. This first-ever continental legal instrument aims to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. The Convention was finalized at the end of 2024 and is expected to be endorsed in 2025. 
• Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention: In 2024, UNFPA LACRO supported the Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention in the Americas. This included contributing to the approval of Recommendation No. 5 on GBV against Afro-descendant women, which calls for a differentiated response to violence in contexts of racial discrimination. 

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UNFPA engages in advocacy and policy dialogue at national, regional and global levels, to accelerate action towards ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. By the end of 2020, as many as 114 UNFPA Regional and Country Offices were involved in strengthening national legislation and policy.

 

For example, Gender-biased Sex Selection and Son Preference programmes are spearheading a movement to end GBSS through the development of national costed action plans, policy and legal reforms as well as through a broad sweeping social movement aimed at changing harmful gender norms that drive male preference.

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UNFPA plays a pivotal role in data collection, analysis, and research to enhance understanding and response to VAW. 

One of its flagship initiatives, kNOwVAWdata, provides technical support and capacity-building for ethical and robust VAW prevalence studies. Launched in 2016 in Asia-Pacific, it has since expanded to Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative helps countries collect and use data to inform programming and monitor SDG 5 on gender equality. 

In humanitarian settings, UNFPA leads GBV administrative data collection through the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS), ensuring ethical handling of sensitive data to improve response efforts. In 2024, the UNFPA Humanitarian Response Division conducted an external review of GBVIMS, assessing progress and UNFPA’s role as a lead agency. 

Regional Data and Research Efforts 

• West & East Africa: In partnership with UNICEF and the Innocenti Center, UNFPA launched an operational study in 2024 to develop technical guidance for FGM and child marriage programming in humanitarian settings. 
• Arab States: Published "Voices from Syria" and "Voices from Sudan," providing qualitative insights into GBV in crisis settings. 
• Asia-Pacific: Supports VAW prevalence studies, ensuring ethical and robust methodologies. From 2021-2024, APRO supported national surveys in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, and Vanuatu—with 32 out of 36 countries having conducted at least one study, and 12 with comparable data to track changes over time. In 2024, APRO and the University of Melbourne published research on technology-facilitated GBV in Asia, including in-depth studies in three countries. UNFPA also ran GBV data learning sessions in four countries in the Pacific under the Spotlight Initiative, hosted a GBV data course in Fiji, and developed the GBV Administrative Data Toolkit for the Pacific. 
• Latin America & Caribbean: Conducted the first regional qualitative research on child marriage and early unions (CMEU) in eight countries, in collaboration with Plan International, making the issue more visible. Based on this research, UNFPA and UNICEF launched an inter-agency strategy to eliminate CMEU, including the Allies for Children and Adolescents Free of Harmful Practices regional platform. 

Through these initiatives, UNFPA strengthens evidence-based policies and interventions, ensuring accountability in the global fight against GBV and harmful practices. 

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As the IASC-mandated agency for coordinating GBV prevention and response in emergencies, UNFPA leads the GBV AoR and coordinates GBV sub-clusters in 32 humanitarian contexts.  UNFPA is also a core member of the IASC GBV Guidelines Reference Group strengthening the integration of measures to mitigate risks of GBV across all sectors in humanitarian action. 

UNFPA leads the GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS) at global level as well as national coordination mechanisms to strengthen case management and protect confidential and ethical management of GBV incident data. 

 

UNFPA is a partner in the UN Action Network Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action), strengthening system-wide responses to conflict-related sexual violence.  

 

It also collaborates in the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) Task Force on VAW. 

Through the Spotlight Initiative, UNFPA works to eliminate VAW globally by addressing structural barriers, strengthening institutions, and promoting survivor-centred responses.  

 

UNFPA is also a key player in the RESPECT framework, a comprehensive approach to prevent GBV, and in the Essential Services Package (ESP), ensuring accessible, quality services for survivors of GBV. 

 

Additionally, UNFPA is at the forefront of addressing TFGBV, including its role in co-leading a coalition to integrate gender in the Global Digital Compact.  

 

UNFPA actively engages with the 16 Days of Activism with concerted efforts to move from activism to accountability.  

 

Since 2008 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest Global Programme to Accelerate the Elimination of FGM in 18 countries. 

 

Since 2016 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, has been implementing the Global Programme to End Child Marriage in 12 of the highest-prevalence and/or high-burden countries. 

 

At the regional and national levels, UNFPA participates in UN country teams and humanitarian clusters to integrate GBV prevention, response, and risk mitigation across sectors, ensuring a survivor-centred and rights-based approach. 

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UNFPA enforces a survivor-centred approach by investing in partnerships, human capacity, and infrastructure to ensure survivors have access to high-quality case management and multi-sectoral services tailored to their needs. 

UNFPA supports 98 countries in implementing the Essential Services Package (ESP) for women and girls subjected to violence, providing funding, knowledge management, and capacity development. A pilot of ESP’s seventh module, which guides resource estimation for a minimum service package, is currently underway. 

UNFPA’s intersectional approach ensures inclusive service provision, including through initiatives like the WeDecide Programme, which strengthens GBV responses for women and young persons with disabilities. 

In line with the 2023-2025 Strategy and Operational Plan on GBV in Emergencies, UNFPA provided safety from GBV for 5 million crisis-affected people in 2024, with over 1,800 safe spaces offering women and girls emotional and physical refuge. Thanks to its extensive field presence, 1.2 million people in 46 countries accessed GBV-related services in 2024, including prevention, risk mitigation, and response. 

UNFPA works across 150 settings to integrate GBV and SRHR services. The Women at the Centre Programme, launched in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe, delivers psychosocial, health, legal, and protection services for women and girls in all their diversity. The programme strengthens case management systems through professionalized training and workforce development, benefiting 177,360 people from 2023-2024. 

In the Arab States, UNFPA enhanced GBV-SRH integration in humanitarian settings through the "Stronger Together" knowledge product, improving service quality in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia. 

In EECA, UNFPA developed and rolled out a Multi-Sectoral Response to GBV training package, including a dedicated module on the intersection of disability, gender, and violence. SOPs for health sector GBV response were also established in five Pacific countries (Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, FSM, and Fiji). 

In LAC, a training initiative on ESP standards reached 8,000+ public servants in 12 countries. This process also documented promising practices in intersectional GBV responses, focusing on women with disabilities, Indigenous and Afro-descendant women, girls, and adolescents. 

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UNFPA works in partnerships with governments to develop legislation that is responsive to the needs of survivors and that is aligned with international laws and human rights standards. UNFPA provides technical, human and financial resources to support the development of national laws and largely engages with governments. By the end of 2020, as much as 96% of UNFPA Country Offices were involved in strengthening national legislation and policy. For example, in Kyrgyzstan, UNFPA contributed to the review of gaps in legislation resulting in expanded and improved services for survivors, increased awareness on gender-based violence and the utilization of new technologies during the pandemic. In the Gambia, UNFPA contributed to the approval of a law criminalizing FGM. And, in Nigeria the Violence Against Persons’ Prohibition Act has been adopted in 20 States in 2020 (bringing the total to 25 States).

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With the Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, UNFPA convened an Expert Group Meeting to gather current and past research and information by leading media organizations, news entities and key women journalists on the status, consequences and causes of threats to women journalists worldwide. The findings and the submissions received following a call for input issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women contributed to the report the Special Rapporteur presented at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020.

The kNOwVAWdata initiative supports safe and ethical prevalence and administrative data collection, analysis and reporting through technical assistance as well as capacity development programmes. From 2018 to 2019, 65 UNFPA staff participated in the kNOwVAWdata curriculum course from 19 countries. In December 2020 the course was adjusted to an online format which enabled an additional 50 participants, from all regions, to undertake the course. Currently 32 UNFPA staff and close to 100 external participants are enrolled in the course curriculum from over 36 countries. Under the UNFPA flagship programme for disability inclusion, The We Decide Global Initiative, one key focus area is ending violence against women with disabilities and building UNFPA  internal capacities accordingly. The UNFPA We Decide Disability Inclusion Guidelines have been implemented in 74 Country Offices. Within the scope of the Joint Programme for UN Partnership for Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) “Building Back Better for All”, UNFPA produced resources that strengthen disability inclusive COVID-19 response and recovery in connection to GBV and SRHR. UNFPA staff was trained on how to use these tools and resources.

Under the UNFPA flagship programme for disability inclusion, The We Decide Global Initiative, one key focus area is ending violence against women with disabilities and building UNFPA  internal capacities accordingly. The UNFPA We Decide Disability Inclusion Guidelines have been implemented in 74 Country Offices. Within the scope of the Joint Programme for UN Partnership for Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) “Building Back Better for All”, UNFPA produced resources that strengthen disability inclusive COVID-19 response and recovery in connection to GBV and SRHR. UNFPA staff was trained on how to use these tools and resources.

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In support of the UNFPA GBV Operational Plan, Flourish, UNFPA leads prevention efforts, emphasizing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) as a key strategy for GBV prevention and gender equality. The EmpowerED! programme, launched in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, embodies this approach, reaching nearly 7.5 million adolescents and youth across 10 countries (Argentina, Benin, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Moldova, the Philippines, Tunisia, and Zambia). Similar initiatives have been implemented in the Pacific, where UNFPA revised CSE curricula in six countries (Fiji, Vanuatu, FSM, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Tonga) to align with international standards. 

UNFPA also integrates GBV prevention within health systems, partnering with Ministries of Health through initiatives like the EU4GE Joint Project in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and a regional collaboration with the League of Arab States, supporting training to prevent violence against women and integrate prevention into primary health care. 

Community engagement remains central to UNFPA’s prevention efforts. The Arab States Regional Office has led regional campaigns in partnership with religious institutions such as Al Azhar to prevent GBV and harmful practices. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), UNFPA conducted a regional systematization across 18 countries, mapping good practices and sharing findings with 15 governments to advocate for increased investment in evidence-based prevention programmes. 

To further advance GBV prevention in educational settings, UNFPA developed the ‘4 Steps to GBV Prevention’ toolkit, a pedagogical resource implemented in six LAC countries (Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Peru). 

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In the East and Southern Africa Region, UNFPA and WHO co-developed and co-facilitated a joint training to support integrated SRHR and GBV services. The 6-week training had around 90 participants from 14 countries in East and Southern Africa.

As of August 2021, 128 participants from 35 countries are enrolled in the kNOwVAWdata course, to develop and strengthen their skills on safe and ethical VAW data collection, analysis and reporting.

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