Enhanced Capacity of UN Entity in Relation to Violence Against Women

Ending violence against women and girls requires a joined up UN system that is equipped to design and deliver comprehensive, rights-based, and evidence-informed programming. To support this, Spotlight Initiative continued investing in strengthening the technical capacities of UN Country and Regional Teams interested in developing Spotlight Initiative programmes. Technical webinars on the Spotlight Initiative model and comprehensive EVAWG programming reached 190 UN personnel across 19 UN Country and Regional Teams, supporting the development of high-quality concept notes for new evidence-based programmes.

At the same time, the Initiative continued supporting existing Spotlight Initiative programmes through the provision of high-quality technical advice and operational guidance. In 2025, the Initiative revised and updated its core technical guidance and key frameworks – including the Initiative’s common results framework – for strengthened programming for women and girls. The Initiative also translated key technical materials into four languages, and disseminated these across programmes and partners. Spotlight Initiative’s participatory monitoring, evaluation, and reporting content was also integrated into a UN System Staff College system-wide course, strengthening the capacity of UN practitioners to apply rights-based monitoring approaches across EVAWG programming and more broadly within the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. 

Taken together, these investments in UN System capacity strengthen the quality, coherence, and sustainability of collective action to end violence against women and girls across diverse contexts.

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.