“Before, I didn’t know where to report cases of violence. Now, I have the information and confidence to help others in my community do the same,” says regular Tumbatu FM listener Fatma Haji Silima. 

When Tumbatu FM, a community radio station based in the Kaskazini District of Zanzibar, Tanzania, began disseminating local statistics about violence against women and girls – released monthly by UN Women and the Zanzibar Office of the Chief Government Statistician – it sought to counteract cultural norms that make it difficult for women to openly discuss abuse they have experienced from men in their communities.  

“We try to go beyond just sharing the statistics by challenging misconceptions, highlighting services and encouraging action,” says Amina Mohamed, a presenter at the youth-led Kati Radio in Zanzibar, which also began disseminating the data, hosting expert interviews and taking calls from listeners. “This helps demystify gender-based violence and gives people the confidence to speak out.” 

As Tumbatu FM, Kati Radio, and other stations became platforms for awareness and dialogue, Zanzibar Police say their efforts have contributed to the 1,809 cases reported to police in 2024 – a 28 per cent increase over 2020, before the monthly data releases began.

These data are also informing interventions under Tanzania’s National Plan of Action to End Violence against Women and Children, and being used by policymakers, service-providers and local authorities to develop targeted responses: specialized training for police, gender desks for confidential reporting, and one-stop centres where survivors can access counselling, health services and legal aid.

Isabella Nzioki recalls being jolted awake by neighbours’ screams as the banks of Nairobi’s Mathare River burst, swallowing inhabitants and homes on 23 April 2024.  

She rushed to help, applying gender-data skills she had gained at a discussion and training organized by UN Women and GROOTS-Kenya a month earlier. 

Nzioki, an experienced Community Health Promoter, started recording details about the 81 survivors, including 64 women. The Kenya Red Cross credits these data for helping them identify those most left vulnerable following the disaster, including pregnant and lactating women. They also served to better target food assistance, mobile clinic interventions, access to medicine, water treatment and sanitation items, and eventual Government financial assistance. 

“I was so impressed with how [these] disaggregated data helped to bridge gaps between survivors and humanitarian agencies,” says Nzioki. “[They] provided a quick and much-needed link.”

After taking the gender equality training offered by his employer in early 2023, 34-year-old Avtandil Tsereteli opted to take paternity leave when his son Alexandre was born. His wife was able to continue working.

“It was one of the most significant decisions I will ever make,” he says.

His employer, Georgia’s TBC Bank, introduced the mandatory training shortly after UN Women shared the findings of its national Time-Use Survey. From 2021–2022, not a single male employee at the bank had taken paternity leave. But after the company started communicating the findings in its training and actively encouraging employees to make use of its fully paid parental leave of up to 6 months, Tsereteli and other new fathers recognized the full significance of the benefit – and opted in.

Elsewhere, in Georgia’s Civil Service Bureau, legislative amendments have also been developed with UN Women support to include non-transferable paternity leave for public sector employees.

In 2022, Tonga conducted its landmark Gender and Environment Survey (GES). Not only did it find that 93 per cent of respondents had experienced three or more disasters in the past 12 months, but the responses revealed the ways in which women were more likely than men to be impacted by:  

• mental health issues (92 versus 85 per cent) 
• loss of income (63 versus 60 per cent) 
• reduced food intake (14 versus 11 per cent) 

UN Women supported the Tonga Statistics Department throughout the survey, the findings of which contributed to a review of Tonga’s Agriculture Sector Plan, 2024 budget revisions by the Ministry of Finance, and a revision of its National Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Policy. 

“We are seeing what can be triggered during times of emergency, and what the needs are, so we can better coordinate ourselves,” says Anna Jane Lagi, with Tonga’s Women’s Affairs and Gender Equality Division, which is now collaborating with the National Disaster Risk Management Office on joint trainings about gender in humanitarian responses for service-providers and first responders. 

In November 2023, when Tonga’s Minister of Finance shared the findings of the Gender and Environment Survey at COP28, the international climate change conference, it served as a leading example of gender-responsive environmental action – and a testament to the nation’s dedication to climate resilience. 

These are among the many results of the Women Count programme, which is currently funded by the Governments of Australia, France, Ireland, Italy and Sweden and the Gates Foundation. Since 2016, the programme has been creating a radical shift in how gender statistics are prioritized, produced and used to drive meaningful change in the lives of women and girls. The programme is preparing to embark on its third phase of implementation in 2026.