The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has raised concern over what it described as a “funding crisis” threatening global efforts to end violence against women and gir
In a new report released on Monday, titled “At Risk and Underfunded,” the UN agency revealed that financial constraints have forced one in three women’s rights and civil society organisations to either suspend or shut down programmes aimed at tackling gender-based violence.
The study, which surveyed 428 women-led and civil society groups worldwide, found that over 40 per cent had reduced or closed vital support services such as shelters, legal aid, psychosocial counselling, and healthcare assistance due to dwindling funding.
According to the report, nearly 80 per cent of respondents said survivors now face reduced access to essential services, while 59 per cent observed an increase in impunity and the normalisation of gender-based violence.
“Women’s rights organisations are the backbone of progress on violence against women, yet they are being pushed to the brink,” said Kalliopi Mingeirou, Head of UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Section. “We cannot allow funding cuts to erase decades of hard-won gains.”
She urged governments and international donors to “ringfence, expand and make funding more flexible,” warning that “without sustained investment, violence against women and girls will only rise.”
The report further highlighted that only five per cent of the organisations surveyed can sustain their operations for more than two years, while 85 per cent foresee major setbacks in laws and protections for women and girls if the funding situation persists.
Additionally, more than half of the respondents expressed fears about increasing threats to women human rights defenders.
UN Women noted that these financial setbacks come amid a global backlash against women’s rights, now evident in one in every four countries.
It added that as resources dwindle, many groups are forced to focus on emergency response rather than long-term advocacy for systemic change.
The agency also reiterated that violence against women remains one of the most widespread human rights violations, with nearly one in three women—approximately 736 million globally—having experienced physical or sexual violence, most often at the hands of intimate partners.
The report was released as the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark framework for gender equality that prioritised the elimination of violence against women.
UN Women called for immediate international action to protect women’s rights organisations from collapse and ensure that progress made over the past three decades is not lost.
“The fight against violence on women cannot survive on empty promises,” Mingeirou added. “We need governments and donors to match their commitments with resources.”
