In 2025, UN Women continued to support the strengthening of legal frameworks addressing violence against women and girls, translating global standards into national legislation and reinforcing accountability.
In2025, UN Women’s support translated into 32 countries adopting, revising or repealing laws to strengthen the national legal framework on EVAWG. Cumulatively over UN Women’s 2022-2025 strategic note, 148 VAWG-related laws across 29 countries strengthened legal protections, benefiting an estimated 1.36 billion women and girls.
Progress included major normative advances at regional and global levels, notably the adoption of the African Union Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, as well as regional instruments such as the Inter-American Model Law on digital violence, contributing to increased legal harmonization and responsiveness to emerging forms of violence. A regional panorama of comprehensive laws on violence against women was conducted across Latin American and Caribbean countries, providing an evidence base to inform public policy design and decision‑making by policymakers.
UN Women also supported legislative reforms addressing evolving challenges, including technology-facilitated violence, conflict-related violence and harmful practices, while working to safeguard existing legal gains in a context of backlash. These efforts were supported by strengthened engagement with civil society, including through the EU-funded ACT programme, which enabled feminist priorities to shape legal and policy outcomes.
Country-level examples include strengthened legislation in Albania, improving protections against violence and enabling women’s political participation.
Overall, these legal reforms enhanced accountability, strengthened protections for survivors, and ensured greater alignment of national legislation with international human rights standards, while improving responsiveness to new and evolving forms of violence against women and girls.
In 2025, UN Women continued to support the strengthening of legal frameworks addressing violence against women and girls, translating global standards into national legislation and reinforcing accountability.
In2025, UN Women’s support translated into 32 countries adopting, revising or repealing laws to strengthen the national legal framework on EVAWG. Cumulatively over UN Women’s 2022-2025 strategic note, 148 VAWG-related laws across 29 countries strengthened legal protections, benefiting an estimated 1.36 billion women and girls.