The “Women in politics: 2023” map, created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, presents new data for women in executive positions and national parliaments as of 1 January 2023. Data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.

This UN Women submission was prepared in response to a call for inputs from the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, for his Report on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Peace and Security.

“Safe consultations with survivors of violence against women and girls” provides practical steps, safety measures, and actions that government agencies, civil society and survivor organizations, and United Nations’ entities can take to incorporate survivors’ voices into ending violence against women and girls programming. It takes into account survivors’ diverse circumstances, addresses individual needs, and reduces the risk for further harm and suffering.

This research paper provides an overview of the global estimates of gender-related killings of women and girls in the private sphere in 2021. It also features policy recommendations to support comprehensive and multisectoral approaches to prevent and address gender-related killings and other forms of gender-based violence against women and girls.

This action kit is a practical tool directed to actors who want to build an effective system for integrating gender responsive budgeting into the annual state budget process, such as Members of Parliament (MPs), parliamentary staff, committees, caucuses of women MPs, and other actors, including UN Women or other United Nations entities who may want to initiate and support a stronger role for parliaments in gender responsive budgeting.

This guidance note offers analysis and recommendations to the United Nations system on how to leverage the platform of the UN Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law (GFP) to advance the implementation of the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda. The publication highlights the existing and potential value of the GFP as a coordination mechanism for gender-responsive rule of law support, through which the United Nations can more effectively and efficiently promote the implementation of the WPS agenda, including the advancement of gender equality and women’s human rights.

This UN Women submission was prepared in response to a call for inputs in March 2022 from the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court to support the development of a policy on gender persecution.

This report provides a detailed history and analysis of the survivor-centered social, legal and political strategies that were employed by those involved in the Sepur Zarco case—a landmark 2016 verdict by a Guatemalan court, convicting two former military members of crimes including sexual violence, sexual slavery, and domestic slavery committed against Maya Q’eqchi’ women near a military rest outpost in Sepur Zarco during Guatemala’s internal armed conflict.

Administrative data is crucial to better understand violence against women (VAW) and to inform prevention and responses to VAW. This publication identifies eight steps for improving the collection and use of VAW administrative data and makes recommendations for data producers and policymakers to help with future decision-making and planning.

This research paper and policy brief explore what women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice means and “looks like” in policy and practice. The publications focus specifically on women and addressing the unique barriers to women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice processes as a result of gender-based discrimination.

UN Women partnered with the Inter-Parliamentary Union to prepare a handbook on gender-responsive law-making. This handbook aims to serve as a resource for lawmakers from around the world for designing gender-responsive laws. Such law-making should address the strategic needs of women and girls and must encompass enacting new laws and amending or repealing laws which are outdated, inconsistent with constitutions, or discriminate against them.

The IPU–UN Women “Women in politics: 2021” map presents global rankings for women in executive, government, and parliamentary positions as of 1 January 2021. The data shows all-time highs for the number of countries with women Heads of State or Heads of Government, as well as for the global share of women ministers.

Under the framework of the UN Joint Global Programme on Essential Services, UN Women, together with UNODC and the IAWP, have developed a handbook on gender-responsive police services for women and girls subject to violence. The handbook is based on and complements existing global and country-specific handbooks and training materials for law enforcement and covers areas such as gender-responsive police investigations, prevention, intersectionality and institutional change.

This primer highlights practical ways Members of Parliament (MPs) and parliamentary staff can take action to ensure COVID-19 response and recovery decision-making addresses women’s needs.

This rapid assessment examines how the impacts of COVID-19 are threatening women’s ability to access justice. The assessment reflects challenges faced by women and girls of diverse backgrounds and socio-economic groups, including those experiencing overlapping disadvantages and those facing amplified challenges in humanitarian settings. Cross-regional and local experiences are highlighted, and quantitative data is utilized where available.

This brief explores the implications for the provision of essential services for women and girls who have experienced violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides recommendations for governments, civil society, and international organizations that are seeking to improve the quality of and access to coordinated health, police and justice, and social services for all women and girls during the crisis and provides examples of promising practices to date.

On the tenth anniversary of UN Women’s establishment, this report brings together research and evidence from state and non-state actors to demonstrate how laws around the world treat women and girls, using trends since 2015 which highlight both gains and ongoing challenges. The report also shares UN Women’s best practices and lessons learned in legal reforms with stakeholders within and outside the UN system, through diverse examples of interventions.

The “Women in politics: 2020” map, created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, presents global rankings for women in executive, government, and parliamentary positions as of 1 January 2020. It shows all-time highs for the number of countries with women Heads of State and/or Heads of Government, and for the global share of women ministers, parliamentary speakers, and parliamentarians.

The “Women in politics: 2019” map, created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, depicts global rankings for women in the executive and parliamentary branches of government as of 1 January 2019. The map shows progress towards gender equality in these areas at regional and national levels.

This report provides a summary of the discussions of the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on violence against women in politics (VAWP), held on 8–9 March 2018 in New York. It contains key points and priority actions to inform interventions to address violence against women in politics.