At risk and underfunded: How funding cuts are threatening efforts to end violence against women and girls

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the world’s most widespread human rights violations, affecting at least one in three women globally. Despite decades of commitment, progress toward eliminating VAWG has stalled or even reversed, with one in four countries reporting backlash against women’s rights. At the same time, women’s rights organizations (WROs) and civil society organizations (CSOs)—the frontline actors providing shelters, psychosocial support, legal aid, and prevention programmes—face an unprecedented financial crisis.

This report, developed under UN Women’s ACT to End Violence against Women Programme funded by the European Union, draws on a global survey of 428 organizations, key informant interviews, and a desk review. It reveals how an estimated USD 78 billion in global aid cuts are forcing WROs and CSOs to reduce or close life-saving services, halt prevention and empowerment programmes, and curtail advocacy work. Nearly 90 per cent of surveyed organizations reported severe reductions in women’s and girls’ access to essential services, and almost a quarter reported halting prevention programmes—creating conditions for heightened violence in the future. Only five per cent believe they can sustain current operations for two years or longer.

The report warns that these cuts exacerbate impunity, increase risks for women and girls, and undermine decades of progress in gender equality, placing Sustainable Development Goal 5 in jeopardy. It calls for urgent, sustained investment and stronger, more resilient feminist movements.