United Nations Population Fund

UNFPA cohosted the 2025 Global Symposium on Climate Justice and Impacted Populations, with the Government of Brazil. The symposium convened global policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to examine the intersections between climate change, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and gender-based violence (GBV). Held ahead of COP30, it positioned climate change as not only an environmental crisis but a human rights issue, disproportionately affecting women and girls. 

The symposium assessed critical gaps in research, policy, financing, and data systems linking climate and GBV, while emphasizing the need for integrated, gender-responsive climate action. It culminated in the Brasília Call to Action, which outlined concrete steps to embed SRHR and GBV into climate policies, national adaptation plans, and financing frameworks. The event strengthened UNFPA and UN agency capacity by establishing a shared evidence base that links GBV with climate vulnerability. It improved technical and institutional capacity by identifying integration pathways for GBV within climate frameworks like NDCs. Furthermore, it fostered cross-sectoral coordination among UN entities and governments for scalable responses while enhancing advocacy capacity with a unified narrative to influence COP30 and global climate governance.

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. 

UNFPA has been actively involved in advancing, implementing, and operationalizing the Belem do Para Convention’s agenda to prevent violence against women through the:

• General Recommendation 5 on GBV and afrodescendant women.
• IV Hemispheric report on the accomplishments of the Belem do Pará Convention 

UNFPA ASRO, in partnership with ESCWA, UNDP, and UN Women, strengthened the availability and use of evidence for gender equality advocacy through the Gender Justice and the Law Initiative (GJI)[1]. In 2025, the initiative delivered an updated, comprehensive legal mapping across 16 Arab States, reflecting recent legislative reforms and alignment with international human rights standards.

• The issuance of a Fatwa in Djibouti condemning FGM was a key outcome of UNFPA ASRO’s sustained technical and programmatic support, which strengthened religious engagement and created conditions for faith-based leadership to publicly reject the practice. Key efforts included operating the Shamekhat network, capacity-building for Al-Azhar students, and a South-South cooperation study tour. The tour brought senior religious leaders from Djibouti to Cairo to engage with scholars from Al-Azhar and Dar al-Ifta. This peer-to-peer dialogue and exposure built trust and religious ownership, leading to the national dialogue and the subsequent Fatwa.

[1] https://genderjustice.unescwa.org/2025/Index.aspx 

The Women at the Centre (WAC) program, established by UNFPA in 2023, is the organization's first global initiative dedicated to increasing the availability and accessibility of quality GBV case management services for survivors, particularly those from marginalized communities. WAC aims to institutionalize professional training and continuous development via accreditation pathways for the social service workforce.This enables the delivery of survivor-centered, high-quality, multi-sectoral response services, including psychosocial support, safe spaces, integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and linkages to child protection systems. Key achievements in 2025 include:

• Establishing or expanding GBV case management and certification pathways in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe.
• Certifying/accrediting 187 case/social workers in El Salvador and Indonesia.
• Supporting or supervising 81 service points across El Salvador, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe.
• Developing and training instructors on national GBV case management pre-service and in-service curricula.
• Publishing four guidance documents (GD) on ethical and safe GBV communications (GD1, GN2, GD3, GD4)
• Developing policy and guidance materials focused on marginalized survivors (adolescent girls, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people, older women etc.), as well as on SRHR and psychological first aid.
• Establishing referral pathways and supporting helplines, hotlines and safe spaces to increase service accessibility.

UNFPA ASRO led the development and regional endorsement of an updated Arab States Primary Health Care strategy integrating GBV into SRH services, adopted by the League of Arab States Health Ministerial Council resolution number 5. The strategy embeds GBV prevention and response into health systems. In 2026, led by UNFPA ASRO and LAS, the countries will develop action plans to advance the implementation across the region.

UNFPA Algeria has strengthened its health sector response to GBV through the integration of three standardized clinical protocols, covering sexual, physical, and psychological violence, into the national health framework. This ensures that all public health facilities provide a uniform, survivor-centered package of care.

UNFPA Jordan supported the expansion of Women-Friendly Health Centers (WFHCs) to 108 sites, delivering integrated, high-quality SRH and GBV services. Implemented with the Ministry of Health and Health Care Accreditation Council, the programme ensures accessible, rights-based care services to the GBV survivors.

Since the publication of the foundational 2021 Making All Spaces Safe report, UNFPA has spearheaded the UN movement to define and address TFGBV, moving the global discourse from awareness to systemic action. Key achievements in 2025 include: 

• In 2025, UNFPA held its Third Global Symposium on TF GBV, under the theme “Intersectional Challenges and Collective Action in a Shifting Digital Age”. This multi-sectoral forum, including member states, private sector tech entities, and feminist technologists aims to harmonize global policy and discourse and is now replicated in several regions (Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa).
• UNFPA has served as a Lead Coordinator on the Steering Committee and co-manages the Advisory Group for the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse since 2022. As the only multilateral, intergovernmental platform dedicated to TFGBV, it unites 16 member states with civil society to drive innovative solutions and coordinate high-level advocacy across global forums like the G7, AI Summit and CSW.
• UNFPA has participated in the Interagency working group on Gender in the Digital Coalition (GiDC), as well as in the UCL Tech Abuse Conference and RightsCon.
• UNFPA made major progress in 2025 in developing and establishing the Global Response Hub - a platform connecting frontline service providers with cybersecurity and security experts.
• In 2025, UNFPA rolled out the Global Training Package for Frontline Responders - a 13-module package with slide decks, facilitator guides and handouts aimed to equip health, social service, law enforcement, justice officials, educators and other non-specialised sectors with strengthened skills and tools to respond to TFGBV cases. The package has been rolled out to 406 GBV service providers and actors across seven regions and countries, including Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia. Participants from three countries (Azerbaijan, Indonesia, and Madagascar) implementing the Women at the Centre programme attended the initial global piloting of the package.   
• The MASS programme is supporting Benin and Kenya to revise existing GBV SOPs to integrate TFGBV, and will inform the development of a global Guidance on integrating TFGBV into case management systems under Women at the Centre (WAC), drawing on lessons learned from WAC countries. TFGBV knowledge and skills have been included in the national GBV case management curriculum in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Indonesia, and Madagascar. The definition has been introduced in Zimbabwe’s curriculum. The WAC programme will additionally develop a global GBV case management curriculum as well as a standard set of global GBV case management forms inclusive of people with disabilities and LGBTIQ+ survivors in 2026 where key competencies on TFGBV will be included.
• UNFPA has engaged a consultant to develop a roadmap for integrating TFGBV into the GBVIMS, which will complement other work in the WAC programme in integrating disability and LGBTIQA+ considerations.
• WAC and MASS countries have established national level Community of Practices (CoPs) where TFGBV is a topic of discussion and technical assistance and tools are provided to support quality case management involving TFGBV, inclusive of marginalized groups.
• Through the WAC programme, the Zimbabwe Country Office is developing the ‘MobiSAFAIDS App’ to enhance the efficiency of GBV referrals. The application is designed to improve survivors' access to critical GBV services by facilitating two-way communication with service providers. The roll-out is scheduled for 2026.
• Following the 2024 global launch of the Safety Showcase: Reimage Gender in Tech with partners FCDO, eSafety, Numun Fund and UNFPA, this initiative continues to spotlight safe, ethical technology designed with gender equality and survivor experiences from inception.
• Under EmpowerED, UNFPA is integrating digital literacy, online safety and healthy relationships into CSE curricula across 10 countries, as well as developing a Digital Redirection Programme for gendered SRHR disinformation, a platform/tool that will divert adolescents from misleading content that reinforces harmful gender norms about masculinity, femininity, relationships, and sexuality to vetted CSE resources.
• UNFPA promoted rights-based law and policy frameworks that are survivor-centred and prioritise platform accountability.In partnership with Derechos Digitales, UNFPA released Guiding principles for law and policy reform to address Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence: Towards a system of accountability at the end of 2025. These principles are based on a comparative analysis of eight global jurisdictions, predominantly from the Global South. UNFPA and UN Women, facilitated by Equality Now, are consolidating two similar documents set to be released in 2026, as well as exploring CSW opportunities.
• UNFPA launched "TFGBV: Considerations Across the Lifecourse" in 2025 with UNICEF and Save the Children, mapping how harm manifests from childhood through older age, emphasizing the need for a life-course approach that reflects the distinct needs of children, adolescents and adults.
• UNFPA supported the development of a global conceptual framework with Save the Children (published in 2025) based on participatory workshops with 219 children across five countries to understand the online-offline continuum of violence.
• Upcoming research includes a Feminist AI Learning Series with briefs designed to equip GBV practitioners with the tools to engage in AI discourse and advocate for Feminist AI governance, as well as the intersection of TFGBV with Extended Reality (XR).
• Since the production of a discussion paper around measurement in 2023, UNFPA has supported several country offices such as Bangladesh and Vanuatu to integrate TFGBV into VAW Prevalence Surveys.
• Together with WHO and UNWOMEN, UNFPA is developing a Guidance note on Measuring Technology-facilitated Violence against Women including a repository of TF-VAW data collection practices and methods.
• Together with WHO and UN Women, UNFPA is a convener of the Global Expert Group meeting on a statistical framework for measuring TFVAW and is currently involved in the development of a TFVAW statistical framework that builds on country-level surveys and small-scale in-depth research.
• Building on pilot programming, UNFPA is currently developing a global measurement framework for TFGBV programming indicators.
• UNFPA ASRO led the regional Training of Trainers (ToT) on TFGBV in Cairo, bringing together 34 participants from 15 countries[1] across multiple sectors. The training significantly increased technical knowledge (from 43% to 84%) and strengthened capacities to respond to GBV across health, psychosocial, legal, and case management services. Building on this progress, the training is cascaded across the region by trained focal points, with replication already initiated in Somalia and Morocco in 2025. Beyond individual capacity gains, the training established a strong foundation for scaling up responses to TFGBV in the region.
• UNFPA ASRO, in partnership with UN Women and UNHCR, led the call for action, Jointly LAS on TFGBV, during the 16 Days of Activism, securing political commitment from LAS to advance coordinated prevention and response measures.

[1] Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, GCC (Oman and Bahrain), Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Libya, Yemen

UNFPA continues to play a strategic and/or leading role in several inter-agency mechanisms and activities: 

UNFPA leads the inter-agency coordination mechanism for the GBV Information Management System programme (GBVIMS Steering Committee) supporting strengthened case management through safe and ethical data collection.

UNFPA is a member of the global Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Emergencies, and also supports its adhoc secretarial together with NORCAP[1].

UNFPA is an active member of the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict supporting application of survivor-centered approaches in CRSV related work.

UNFPA plays a central role in the Spotlight Initiative, supporting integrated, multi-sectoral approaches to eliminate violence against women and girls, including through prevention, response services, and strengthening of enabling environments and data systems.

UNFPA contributes to the implementation and global promotion of the RESPECT framework, supporting evidence-based prevention of violence against women through coordinated, multi-sectoral interventions and partnerships.

UNFPA is a key partner in the Essential Services Package (ESP) for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, supporting the development and implementation of quality, coordinated, and survivor-centered services across health, justice, social services, and policing sectors.

The REGA and Information Management team in ASRO successfully provided sustained strategic and technical support to GBV Areas of Responsibility (AoRs) in Yemen, Syria, Sudan, the occupied Palestinian territory, and the GBV Working Group in Lebanon. As a result, GBV Case Management Task Forces were strengthened, enabling the continued delivery of quality, ethical, and coordinated survivor support even in highly constrained and rapidly evolving operational contexts. Across all contexts, advocacy and practical support led to increased meaningful inclusion, leadership, and resourcing of women-led and women-focused organizations within GBV coordination and response mechanisms. These efforts were underpinned by a regional report highlighting the specific barriers WLOs face in accessing Country-Based Pooled Funds, informing more strategic and inclusive funding approaches.

The Regional Emergency GBV Advisor (REGA) for East and Southern Africa (ESA) significantly advanced the leadership and coordination capacities   of GBV service providers across the region on behalf of UNFPA’s mandate to coordinate GBViE: the REGA founded in 2017 and continuously chairs the Regional GBV Working Group for ESA, comprising 35 active member organizations that meet on a monthly basis, ensuring consistent inter-agency GBV coordination and situational awareness across the region.

[1] The Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies is a global initiative, currently led by Norway, that brings together States and donors, international organisations and non-governmental organisations with the aim to drive change and foster accountability from the humanitarian system to address GBV from the earliest phases of a crisis. 

Since 2024, UNFPA has significantly strengthened its GBV prevention through a series of strategic and evidence-driven initiatives: 

• The organization undertook a comprehensive internal mapping of GBV prevention programmes across regions, which, combined with a global literature review on “what works”, has informed the development of new internal guidance on GBV prevention. This forthcoming guidance is designed to support country offices in planning, implementing, and scaling evidence-based interventions, while ensuring alignment with UNFPA’s Strategic Plan and its gender strategy Agency, Choice and Access and GBV Operational Plan, Flourish. It reinforces work across legal reform, social norms transformation, youth empowerment, and feminist movement strengthening.
• UNFPA has deepened the integration of GBV prevention into comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). This includes the development of a forthcoming  policy brief that leverages the potential of CSE for GBV prevention, alongside operational guidance that translates evidence into practical steps for integrating violence prevention intervention components,   gender-transformative approaches and trauma-informed approaches into CSE programming. UNFPA is also building the evidence base on how CSE contributes to preventing violence and the impact of CSE in improving access to GBV services.
• Through the Women at the Centre (WAC) programme, UNFPA community outreach efforts focused on adapting social and gender norms change theory into local contexts in five countries including Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe.  Countries adapted UNFPA’s Global Social and Gender Norms Change Toolkit or other globally recognized prevention models like SASA! targeting women leaders, adolescents, caregivers/adults, and religious/community leaders. UNFPA additionally  implemented diverse TFGBV awareness initiatives through the WAC programme, such as media training and educational game kits in El Salvador and the development of public booklets in Indonesia. Madagascar and Zimbabwe utilized community outreach and radio campaigns during the 16 Days of Activism to address digital safety and online violence. These integrated efforts across the four countries focused on adapting social and gender norms change theory to local contexts to better protect women and youth in virtual environments.
• UNFPA, together with UNWOMEN, WHO and UNDP, has developed forthcoming guidance on the Dos and Don’ts of Engaging Men and Boys, emphasizing that such efforts must remain accountable to women’s rights movements, challenge harmful masculinities and power imbalances, adopt intersectional approaches, and avoid diverting resources from women- and girl-centred programming.
• UNFPA is piloting innovative approaches such as a digital redirection intervention to counter online sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) misinformation and gendered disinformation, linking young people to accurate information and services. Together, these efforts reflect a more integrated, systemic, and forward-looking prevention agenda.
• UNFPA ASRO technically supported the establishment of a regional digital hub on child marriage in the Arab region through the launch of the Regional Action Forum (RAF) website in 2025, which is hosted and coordinated by UNICEF. The digital hub hosts over 80 technical and advocacy resources, strengthening access to evidence, visibility, and cross-country learning among UN agencies, CSOs, iNGOs, academia, and women’s rights organisations.
• UNFPA Morocco supported the Aman Laki - an innovative digital solution for GBV prevention and response, providing women, especially survivors and those in vulnerable situations, with easy access to integrated support services. Through a user-friendly interface, the platform enables online requests, connects users to listening centers and specialized services, and facilitates referrals to multisectoral institutions, including pathways for support and economic empowerment.
• UNFPA Sudan strengthened the role of Women-Led Organizations (WLOs) as frontline GBV responders by supporting localization efforts through technical and financial assistance, coordination platforms, and increased visibility. This enhanced their capacity, representation, and influence, ensuring grassroots women’s leadership is better integrated into humanitarian, peacebuilding, and recovery processes.

UNFPA is supporting the rollout of the UN statistical framework on femicide, with pilot initiatives in countries such as Pakistan and the Dominican Republic. This work places particular emphasis on strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) and medico-legal death investigation systems, recognizing their critical role in improving the accuracy, completeness, and use of data on femicide. By integrating administrative data systems and fostering cross-country learning, UNFPA aims to enhance measurement, inform policy, and ultimately contribute to the prevention of femicide.

UNFPA Algeria has made significant progress in strengthening its national response to GBV by developing and finalising Intersectoral Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These SOPs establish a formal bridge between the Ministry of Justice, the National Gendarmerie (DGSN), and the Ministry of Health, creating a unified framework for prevention and response.

UNFPA continues to serve as the IASC-designated lead for Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE) within the Protection Cluster: 

• UNFPA has supported a wide network of actors at global and field levels. In line with its mandate as the GBV Provider of Last Resort (PoLR), UNFPA has worked with partners to deliver survivor-centered, multi-sectoral, life-saving services. These services provide assistance to GBV survivors, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). These efforts have resulted in increased access to essential life-saving services, support, and protection for vulnerable  individuals, particularly women and girls.
• In 2025, UNFPA  undertook a comprehensive review and update of its internal Guidance on Prevention, Mitigation and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual  Violence. The updated Guidance outlines UNFPA’s approach to addressing CRSV in humanitarian settings. While reinforcing the critical role of UNFPA in coordinating gender-based violence service providers, strengthening and maintaining safe referral pathways, and promoting survivor-centered standards across all humanitarian interventions, it also sets clear parameters to ensure that UNFPA uses information and trends of CRSV to inform programming, coordination, service delivery, and advocacy efforts, including in contexts where UNFPA coordinates the Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Arrangements (MARA).
• In the DRC, UNFPA is the convening and administrative agency for a new joint UN Programme on the reparation of CRSV survivors financed by the DRC Government’s FONAREV fund.
• In 2025, UNFPA implemented for the first time a qualitative methodology (Voices) in the DRC that was previously used in Syria, Sudan, and Cameroon. Voices collected data on women and girls’ perceptions and experiences of GBV. The findings include CRSV elements, further informing prevention and protection strategies in these contexts. In addition, UNFPA in the DRC   also led the pillar on CRSV of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) protection advocacy strategy that was   adopted by the humanitarian country team.
• UNFPA continues to support MARA coordination and CRSV related work in Myanmar, Mali, Central Africa Republic, South Sudan and Ukraine.
• UNFPA Sudan leads GBV programs and   Area of Responsibility, coordinating a large-scale, survivor-centred response across all states, strengthening referral pathways, expanding Women and Girls Safe Spaces, and driving integrated GBV–SRH service delivery through mobile teams and one-stop centres, while also supporting local women-led organizations and frontline workforce capacity.
• UNFPA Yemen co-leads, despite severe funding constraints and access limitations, the GBV AoR and maintains a multisectoral response that combines case management, shelters, mental health services, and prevention interventions, alongside strong coordination with national actors and investment in social norms change and evidence generation.
• UNFPA Syria reached 488,000 people with GBV prevention and response services (94% Female) with a majority in the conflict related zones. This included timely access to WGSS, MHPSS, and integrated sexual reproductive health services.
• UNFPA Palestine sustained in 2025 a lifesaving GBV response despite extreme crisis conditions, providing services through safe spaces, shelters, and MHPSS centres while ensuring case management, psychosocial support, and referrals for survivors. UNFPA also played a key coordination role, maintaining survivor-centred services and protection standards even as needs far exceeded available resources.