United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

UN Women’s efforts have significantly advanced the response to VAWG at the global, regional, country and community levels. Under the Joint Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, UN Women, in partnership with UNFPA, UNODC, WHO and UNDP, developed, promoted and implemented the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence,85 the first-ever guidance based on agreed-on global standards for a package of minimum comprehensive services for VAWG survivors in health, policing/justice, social services and the coordination of these services. In addition to providing guidance on coordination and essential actions to be taken by different sectors, the ESP also outlines the enabling environment needed to support the implementation of essential services and provides guidance on estimating resource requirements for a minimum package of services. This is complemented by guidance developed by UN Women and partners on engaging survivors of VAWG safely and strengthening police responses to VAWG crimes during 2021–2022. 

In 2022 and 2023, UN Women supported 30 countries to improve the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of essential services for VAWG survivors, by working to scale up survivor services aligned with international standards, through promoting the ESP and related guidance; strengthen the coordination of services; strengthen justice and policing services; expand social services, in addition to strengthening the enabling legislative and policy environment; and conduct data and research-related activities to support VAWG responses, in both development and humanitarian country contexts. As a result, 44 countries saw an increase in the number of women who access services after experiencing violence or discrimination between 2022-2023. UN Women’s commitment to integrating the ‘leave no-one behind’ principle into its interventions has ensured that programming considers the needs of all women and girls, including those most marginalized.

Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:

• Uganda: Trained 1,500+ community leaders in gender-responsive EVAWG interventions.
• Bangladesh: Developed a Strategic Plan for Gender-Responsive Policing.
• Kyrgyzstan: Integrated gender-transformative curricula into four universities, educating 100+ students.
• Strengthened capacity of 770 institutions to provide survivor-centered services​
• Training packages were developed for prosecutors, GBV counsellors, and psychosocial workers. These materials supported national rollouts across Asia-Pacific to improve justice, health, and social service responses.

At the global level, UN Women delivered trainings through the Inter-agency Coordination group Against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) on mainstreaming gender into efforts to prevent and address trafficking of women and girls.

UN Women ROAP invested in its prevention capacity through the Asia-Pacific Regional Strategy on VAW Prevention, aligned with RESPECT Women. It strengthened technical support to offices through learning exchanges and guidance tools such as the ESP Foundational Elements Appraisal Tool.

Gathering data and evidence on VAWG is vital for gaining insight into the scope, nature, severity and frequency of the different forms of violence experienced by women globally. This data can also help to shed light on who is at highest risk, identify perpetrators, locate hotspots, and reveal the myriad consequences of this violence for individuals, families, communities and societies. This evidence also helps to understand whether survivors can access existing support services. To get a full picture, UN Women supports the production of quality data from different sources to track progress against the SDGs, including prevalence survey data, administrative data, policy data, qualitative data and innovative methods and sources such as big data and remote data collection. In 2022 and 2023, UN Women supported institutions, governments, CSOs and academics to analyse, use and disseminate high-quality statistics and evidence on VAWG by working to increase capacities for the production of quality, comparable prevalence data on VAWG to track SDG progress; strengthen knowledge and data on femicides to support prevention and response interventions; increase the capacities of institutions to collect, analyse, use and disseminate high-quality administrative data on VAWG; and advance innovations to fill critical data gaps on VAWG. UN Women’s work on data and research also includes managing a comprehensive repository on government actions to address VAWG: the Global Database on Violence against Women. One of UN Women’s most popular portals, it receives more than half a million visitors a year.

Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:

Strengthened national statistical offices in 21 countries.

• Developed the Statistical Framework for Measuring Femicide with UNODC.
• Published the Global Technical Guidance for Administrative Data on VAWG to standardize reporting.
• UN Women America's & Caribbean Regional Office collected data using behavioural insights to develop evidence-based strategies to address TFVAW.
• UN Women Multi country office– Caribbean supported the increased availability of globally comparative VAWG prevalence data in the Caribbean through the first round of national prevalence surveys in Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.
• UN Women MCO – Caribbean published the first studies on the Economic Costs of Violence Against Women and Girls in the Caribbean, in Grenada and Jamaica, and completed an additional ECOVAWG Study in Guyana.
• Research outputs included a costing study on IPV, big data analysis on VAW during crises (in the Pacific) and during COVID, pioneering studies on VAW in politics, violence against LGBTIQ+ people and measuring social norm change in Nepal. UN Women also supports national efforts to improve administrative data systems and is piloting the UN-endorsed statistical framework on femicide.

As part of its triple mandate, UN Women has continued to support the development of global normative standards and the full implementation by Member States to of the existing international and regional legal and policy framework on ending violence against women and girls, including the CEDAW Convention and other international and regional human rights treaties, and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, through its operational functions and UN system coordination and broader convening role on EVAWG.  

Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:

• Drafted UN Secretary-General reports on:
  • Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls (A/79/500) – 2022, 2024
  • Ending female genital mutilation (A/79/514) -2022, 2024
  • Trafficking in women and girls (A/79/322) - – 2022, 2024
• Provided technical support for a UN General Assembly resolution on survivors’ access to justice, strengthening international commitments.
• Supported CSW67, ensuring technology-facilitated GBV (TF GBV) was recognized as a critical emerging issue.
• In 2024, UN Women co-developed new Human Rights Council resolutions on domestic violence (A/HRC/53/L.5/REV.1) and TF GBV (A/HRC/56/L.15), ensuring international recognition of digital violence against women.
• Worked closely with the EDVAW Platform (7 UN entities) to address the backlash against women’s rights, strengthen legal frameworks, and combat new forms of violence exacerbated by climate change and digitalization.
• UN Women Americas and Caribbean RO works with the Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) to develop tools and resources to strengthen the implementation of the Belém do Pará Convention in the region.
  • In the framework of the Programme ACT, UN Women ACRO is working with the MESECVI to develop the Inter-American Model Law on TFVAWG
• UN Women Americas and Caribbean RO worked with the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) to establish international standards for investigating threats against human rights defenders in the framework of the Esperanza Protocol.
• UN Women Americas and Caribbean RO works with the Gender Specialized Network of the Ibero-American Association of Public Ministries (REG-AIAMP) to develop regional frameworks for the investigations of violence against women. In the past years, the REG-AIMP adopted, with the support of UN Women ACRO, the following:
  • Working Methodology for the Adaptation Process of the Latin American Model Protocol for the Investigation of Gender-Related Violent Deaths of Women (Femicide/Feminicide) by the United Nations
  • Protocol for the Investigation and Litigation of Cases of Violent Deaths of Women (Femicide)
  • Organized or Complex Crime and Violence Against Women: Proposed Guidelines for the Public Prosecutors' Offices / Prosecutors General Members of the AIAMPUN Women supported ASEAN’s implementation of the Regional Plan of Action on EVAWG and led development of the ASEAN Guidelines for Developing National SOPs for a Coordinated Response to VAWG, aligning with international human rights norms.

Inadequate public investments in essential services and care infrastructure continue to impede women’s ability to fully participate in the economy, access justice and social protection, and live free from violence. With support from UN-Women, over nine and a half million women, across 79 countries, including many survivors of violence and internally - displaced women and refugees, accessed information, goods, resources and/or services. Forty-nine countries have implemented systems, strategies and/or programmes to advance women’s equal access to and use of services, goods and/or resources (including social protection), and 60 countries have strengthened protocols, guidelines and initiatives to prevent and respond to violence against women. Meanwhile, more than 6,600 organizations across 87 countries have enhanced capacities to deliver and/or monitor essential services, goods and resources for women and girls in humanitarian and development settings. Pervasive unequal social norms affect the daily experiences of women everywhere and present a significant obstacle to achieving structural change. With dedicated focus on transforming inequitable gender norms, 15 countries have adopted comprehensive, coordinated strategies for preventing violence against women. 

Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:

UN Women enhanced survivor access to essential services:

• Antigua and Barbuda: Supported the establishment and operationalisation of the first Support and Referral Centre (One-Stop Centre)
• Moldova: Opened its first Centre for Specialist Services for sexual violence survivors.
• Bangladesh: Expanded Victim Support Centres to nine police stations, improving survivor access to justice.
• Jamaica: Supported the establishment of DV zero-rated hotline and Domestic Violence Intervention Centres DVICS).
• St. Lucia: Supported the establishment of a One-Stop Centre in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank and NGM.
• Ukraine: Partnered with JurFem to provide legal, medical, and psychological support to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
• Nigeria: Established a Private Sector GBV Fund, expected to aid 10,000 survivors.

UN Women strengthened the capacity of institutions and service providers:

• Developed the Handbook on Gender-Responsive Policing Services, now used in police training in multiple countries.
• Implemented a gender-responsive policing programme in Trinidad and Tobago, training over 400 police officers and embedding the programme into the Police Academy.
• Led the first-ever Gender-Responsive Policing Summit, setting new standards for policing practices.
• Supported Latin America’s Model Protocol for Investigating Femicide, helping 18 countries criminalize femicide.
• Trained 770 national and local institutions across 49 countries, enhancing survivor-centered service provision.
• UN Women strengthened survivor-centered multisectoral services through supporting use of the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence in translation, and the ASEAN Regional Guidance on Social Work Services. This includes support for GBV counsellor training packages, national service protocols, and ESP practice-based knowledge reflections.

UN Women is leading efforts to combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence by pushing for laws to protect women and girls, closing data gaps, adapting support services for survivors, and working with men and boys to challenge gender stereotypes and discrimination.   

Shaping laws and policies: UN Women works closely with governments and international bodies through platforms like the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN General Assembly to establish stronger laws that combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Key contributions include supporting and informing frameworks such as the Global Digital Compact, the UNODC Cyber Crime Convention, EU Directive on combating violence against women, and CSW67 Agreed Conclusions. UN Women launched global and regional consultations for legal guidance and in the Americas, UN Women is supporting MESECVI in the development of the Model Law on TF GBV

Supporting feminist movements: UN Women bridges the gap between gender justice and digital rights activism by amplifying the voices of women’s rights organizations and fem-tech activists, ensuring they have the tools, knowledge, and networks to challenge digital exclusion and push for better protection of women and girls. Initiatives such as the EU-funded ACT programme aims to strengthen the digital security and advocacy capacities of women’s rights movements and human rights defenders.

Working with men and boys as allies to transform harmful masculinities. This work includes on-going research with Equimundo to better understand the pathways into misogynistic networks online and entry points for shifting harmful narratives and engaging men and boys to foster positive attitudes towards women and girls. 

Raising public awareness: Through campaigns, educational resources, and bystander intervention programmes, UN Women raises public awareness of such violence and promotes prevention strategies.  Specific examples include:  

• Created a bystander intervention campaign in Latin America to tackle online GBV including for ethical AI use, highlighting risks of automated decision-making reinforcing gender discrimination.

Building knowledge and gathering data: UN Women is closing knowledge gaps by defining technology-facilitated gender-based violence , developing standardized methodologies that countries can use to gather data, as required by the Statistical Commission.  Specific examples include:

• Led the Asia Pacific Learning Series, training 213 EVAWG advocates
• A 2020 regional study provided the first snapshot of women’s online abuse in Asia, followed by the 2023 study on online opposition to gender equality. These findings informed regional advocacy at CSW67 and shaped new  tools for youth and civil society. ROAP also conducted a big data analysis on VAW during the COVID-19 pandemic across eight countries, identifying proxy trends through social media and search behaviours. Regional engagement at SVRI 2024 co-led with WHO and UNFPA helped launch a global TFGBV research agenda. A repository of global TFGBV work ensures continued access to tools and lessons learned

Building partnerships: UN Women collaborates with global initiatives like the Generation Equality Action Coalitions and the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. It also supports initiatives like Women LEAD, which advances women’s leadership while addressing barriers to participation in both digital and physical spaces.

Through the UN system, coordinated efforts were accelerated to combat intersecting forms of violence, through joint global, regional and country programmes, the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-based Violence, and UN multi- partner trust funds. For example, in 2023, across 57 countries, more than $109.6 million was disbursed to civil society organizations working towards the achievement of women’s rights, including through the Spotlight Initiative, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UN Trust Fund), and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). Over 12,300 civil society organisations or mechanisms, across 84 countries, enhanced leadership capacity and enabled meaningful and safe engagement in decision-making. In 25 countries, 75 initiatives were developed and implemented to prevent, monitor and mitigate violence against women in politics and public life. 

UN Women strengthened coordination within the UN system and across sectors to enhance global EVAWG efforts:

• As the Secretariat of the UN Inter-agency Working Group on EVAWG, UN Women facilitated collaboration among 14 UN agencies, leading to 538 new measures to strengthen survivor services in response to COVID-19.
• As the technical lead of Spotlight Initiative during Spotlight 1.0, UN Women played a leadership role representing the Recipient UN Organizations in the highest governing body and holding technical coherence role in 23 out of 32 programmes, reflecting UN Women’s expertise and experience.
  • UN Women was an implementing agency in 30 of the 32 programmes, responsible for the management of 38% (USD 192 M) of the global investment and worked across all outcome areas (laws and policies, institution strengthening, prevention, response, and women’s movement). UN Women’s programming through key partnerships led to impactful results, including:
  • Strengthening laws and policies: Contributed directly to strengthening 477 laws and policies that promote gender equality while supporting 35,000 women’s rights advocated to more effectively feed into laws and policies
  • Strengthening institutions: Supported capacity development of 6,637 government officials on gender responsive budgeting supporting 1,201 government officials to draft and cost action plans to end VAWG.
  • Enhancing prevention: establishing 83 men and boys networks to challenge tolerance of VAWG and supporting 234 awareness raising campaigns reaching over 172 million people.
  • Enhancing Response services: Supported efforts that contributed to 124,035 VAWG cases reported to the police
  • Strengthening women’s movement: UN Women directed USD 86 Million to women’s rights organisations and other civil society organisations[RR1]
• Essential Services Programme standardized multi-sectoral services in 90+ countries, improving access to quality health, legal, and social support.
• UN Women coordinates the Secretary General UNiTE by 2030 Campaign on behalf of the UN System. The campaign mobilized millions globally, with a record 34 million social media impressions in 2023. In 2024, UN Women supported the Office of the President of the General Assembly for a historic high-level meeting on the review of progress towards ending violence against women and girls.
• As co-lead of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence, UN Women created significant momentum by providing a shared vision and accountability framework, resulting in over $5 billion in financial pledges on gender-based violence and the implementation of over 600 programmes supporting 389 new policies. 
• UN Women's Engagement in UN Action: UN Women is a leading entity in the UN Action Network. In coordination with the other 25 member entities, UN Women actively engages in high-level Steering Committee meetings and monthly technical-level discussions on situations of concern, advocacy, and knowledge building. UN Women leads the workstream on understanding the application of a survivor-centered approach, as enshrined in Security Council resolution 2467 (2019), and is engaged in workstreams on technology-facilitated conflict-related sexual violence, the MARA, the nexus of terrorism/violent extremism and CRSV, advocacy, and preventing CRSV. UN Women played a vital role in the development and implementation of the Framework for the Prevention of CRSV (2022), including its pilot roll-out in Ukraine in July 2024. Since 2022, UN Women has chaired the Resource Management Committee for a two-year term. UN Women currently benefits from the Conflict-related Sexual Violence - Multi-Partner Trust Fund as one of six implementing agencies of a joint catalytic project in Ukraine.
• The Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), a policy forum mandated by the UN General Assembly to improve coordination among UN agencies and other relevant international organizations to facilitate a holistic and comprehensive approach to preventing and combating trafficking in persons. UN Women attends as an active participant.
• Inter-Agency Gender Group (Grupo Interagencial de Género, GIG, in Spanish), a regional coordination mechanism in Latin America and the Caribbean, led by UN Women, that brings together United Nations agencies and sometimes other international organizations to promote gender equality and women’s rights. GIGs operate at both national and regional levels across Latin America and the Caribbean, and their agendas often reflect local gender priorities, such as: Ending violence against women and girls; Promoting political participation of women; Ensuring economic empowerment; Addressing the gender dimensions of climate change, migration, and health.
• UN Women supported the establishment of GBV inter-agency task forces in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines under the Build Back Equal Programme. 
• UN Women Regional Office for Asia - Pacific co-led implementation of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative in the ASEAN region through the "Safe and Fair" programme focused on violence against migrant women. This included developing regional frameworks and supporting service delivery protocols and data systems in 9 countries. The programme reached over 427,000 women migrant workers with services and trained nearly 22,000 stakeholders. UN Women co-chairs and sustains the UNiTE Asia-Pacific Working Group with UNFPA, coordinating regional, joint UN action.

Violence against women and girls is preventable, and prevention remains central to UN Women’s work in addressing its root causes, including harmful social norms and unequal gender power dynamics. Risk factors such as limited education, childhood exposure to violence, harmful use of alcohol, and societal attitudes that normalize violence and gender inequality increase the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating violence against women and girls.75 Effective prevention requires mitigating these risk factors while amplifying protective measures such as promoting healthy relationships, fostering gender equality, and creating supportive environments. UN Women has been instrumental in influencing intergovernmental processes, such as the UN General Assembly76 and CSW,77 to prioritize VAWG prevention. Together with partners, UN Women has integrated prevention into government agendas through the development of NAPs and prevention strategies. Foundational documents like the UN Prevention Framework78 and the RESPECT framework79 have been critical in fostering a shared understanding and a coordinated approach across diverse stakeholders. In 2022 and 2023, UN Women led evidence-based prevention interventions grounded in the RESPECT framework’s seven strategic areas.80 These initiatives addressed the root causes of VAWG through interconnected strategies, including shifting harmful norms in families, through sports and within institutions; mobilizing communities; engaging men and boys, as well as religious and traditional leaders; supporting women’s agency and economic empowerment; and partnering with the private sector to ensure safe workplaces and communities where women and girls can thrive free from violence. 

Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:

• RESPECT Framework was implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, reaching community leaders and policymakers.
• UN Women ACRO, in collaboration with PAHO, adapted the RESPECT Global Framework to Latin America and the Caribbean and promoted capacity building workshops in Chile and Bolivia with the participation of more than 130 policymakers.
• Sport-based programs:
  • Get into Rugby Plus engaged 629 children and trained 50% female coaches in Fiji and Samoa.
• Community mobilization:
  • SASA! Together expanded in Uganda, training 1,500+ activists to challenge GBV norms.
  • Strengthening Peaceful Village in Kiribati led to 1,200 community-led actions that reduced household violence.
• The UN Women Foundations Programme was rolled out in Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, engaging over 2,000 facilitators and young people on GBV prevention in and out of school programmes
• Evidence-based prevention was promoted through resources like the VAW Prevention Programming Guide, Voices Against Violence curriculum. Prevention efforts engaged youth, and faith organizations to challenge norms and catalyse behaviour change.   ROAP also launched a regional storytelling initiative, empowering women and LGBTQI+ advocates to challenge harmful norms through public speaking.
• In 2024, UN Women expanded its convening role, leveraging the UN-Women and the European Union in 2023 committed to a 22-million-euro Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence Against Women (ACT) Programme in Latin America and Africa to counter backlash against gender equality and mobilize resources for women’s rights organizations.

UN Women has taken a leadership role in tackling the gender-related killings of women and girls (also referred to as femicide or feminicide) through legal frameworks, policy development, and data collection in collaboration with UNODC and regional partners.

Specific examples of UN Women's work include:

• 18 Latin American Countries Adopt Femicide Laws: With support from UN Women and MESECVI, 18 countries in Latin America now recognize femicide/feminicide as a specific crime in their legal frameworks. This milestone was achieved through sustained technical assistance, policy recommendations, and legal advocacy​
• Latin American Model Protocol for Investigating Gender-Related Killings of Women: UN Women has provided both technical and financial support for the adoption and adaptation of this model protocol in Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, and Chile, ensuring its alignment with each country's legal and institutional structures​
• Ecuador’s National Protocol for Investigating Femicides: Established in partnership with the State Attorney General’s Office, this protocol standardized evidence collection, streamlined investigative procedures, and ensured comprehensive reparations for victims. By the end of 2022, 113 prosecutors had received training on implementing this protocol​
• Statistical Framework for Measuring Gender-Related Killings: In collaboration with UNODC, UN Women developed  the framework, which was formally adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) in March 2022. This framework enhances global data collection on femicide, moving beyond intimate-partner and family-related killings to include broader gender-related killings​. Since its endorsement, UN Women and UNODC have been piloting the framework in different countries across all world regions and will be reporting on progress to the Statistical Commission in 2026.
• Annual Global Report on Femicide Estimates: In 2022, UN Women and UNODC jointly published the first-ever global report on femicide, providing data-driven insights and policy recommendations to strengthen prevention and response measures. This has now become an annual research series published each year on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 25 November).
• Commitment to Femicide Data Collection in Asia-Pacific: At a 2023 conference on femicide data, co-hosted by UN Women’s Asia and the Pacific Regional Office, 60 international experts convened to improve femicide data-collection methodologies. This led to pilot commitments from Fiji and Mongolia, while experts from Indonesia and Pakistan pledged to integrate gender analysis into femicide case assessments​
• Regional Femicide Monitoring Mechanisms in Europe: In Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania, UN Women has led efforts to establish Femicide Watch mechanisms and improve data standardization. A key achievement was the analysis of 140 final court decisions on femicide cases, bringing to light previously unrecorded cases and systemic gaps in prosecution.
• Regional Office of Asia-Pacific helped elevate femicide as a regional concern through co-organisation of the 2023 International Conference on Ending Gender-Based Killings of Women and Girls. Following the conference, UN Women and UNODC began piloting the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls in Fiji and Mongolia to improve national data collection and coordination. Building on the findings of the global femicide report, ROAP and UNODC continue to advance regional advocacy to raise awareness and inform policy responses.

Complementing strong and comprehensive legal frameworks, UN Women supports the development and implementation of national action plans (NAPs) for EVAWG that are critical for a coordinated approach to implementing national laws. The Handbook on multisectoral national action plans68 and the Handbook on Multisectoral National Action Plans to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls69 have been guiding UN Women’s work and supporting governments on developing responsive, evidence-based and well consulted NAPs to prevent violence against women and girls. Between 2022- 2023, UN Women supported 64 multi-sectoral strategies, action plans and policies adopted to support EVAWG. 

Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:

• Trinidad and Tobago: Led the creation of the first  costed National Strategic Action Plan on GBV (2023–2027).
• Fiji: Guided the National Action Plan to Prevent VAWG (2023–2028), based on consultations with 2,000+ stakeholders.
• Samoa: Developed a National Prevention Framework, integrating EVAWG into national planning.
• Cambodia: Provided technical assistance for its National Action Plan on VAWG (2019–2023).