World leaders at CSW70 put ending violence against women and girls at the top of the agenda
On 12 March 2026, Member States, UN leaders, women’s rights organizations, experts and survivor advocates convened at UN Headquarters in New York for the first annual CSW High-level Meeting on Violence Against Women and Girls – a landmark session of CSW under a new mandate to elevate critical, cross-cutting gender equality priorities and accelerate implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
“This meeting is a direct result of CSW revitalization and recognition to elevate opportunities for exchange on issues that intersect all our efforts and permeate all of society,” said UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous. “From the Sustainable Development Goals, and across the Beijing Platform for Action, ending violence against women and girls is its own imperative and an accelerator for all others.”
Progress remains too slow – while new harms accelerate
The meeting took place against a stark reality: at least one in three women worldwide experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, and progress remains stubbornly slow. Participants stressed that the cost of inaction is borne not only by survivors and communities, but by entire societies – through lost opportunities, weakened trust in institutions, and deepened inequality.
Technology is compounding the crisis. Speakers warned that violence now moves seamlessly across online and offline spaces, with digital abuse enabling real-world intimidation, silencing, and control.
The message was clear: prevention and response systems must keep pace with this evolving landscape – without losing sight of the structural drivers that allow violence to persist.
What works to prevent violence against women and how to scale it
Belgium, Brazil, Solomon Islands, Tunisia and Ukraine, representing the five UN regional groups, framed the day’s discussions by sharing lessons learned and good practices on comprehensive approaches to ending violence against women and girls. These included changing policies and legal frameworks, costed national action plans, multisectoral coordination, and addressing pecific challenges linked to technology-facilitated violence against women and conflict-related sexual violence.
Eighty-four countries then spoke of their own experiences, highlighting promising practices that can be scaled up and replicated in other countries to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, including through multi-sectoral action plans and gender-responsive budgeting.
Participants highlighted that progress depends on implementation, going beyond adoption of laws and policies. It also requires adequately resourced services; coordinated pathways across policing, justice, health, and social protection; and leveraging the expertise of civil society and women’s rights organizations in providing this support; as well as prevention approaches that shift norms, transform institutions, and reduce risk before harm occurs. Where these elements align, results follow – but sustaining delivery at scale needs continued investment, capacity, and accountability, so commitments translate into real protection and access to justice for survivors.
The afternoon session was opened by a panel of experts from global and regional women’s rights treaty bodies and mechanisms, academia and civil society, who had been invited to provide latest evidence and reflections on “what works” to prevent violence and strengthen survivor-centred responses.
Experts focused on practical approaches for strengthening survivor-centred, multisectoral approaches, including access to justice, and the importance of distinguishing gender-related killings of women —often referred to as femicide— from other forms of homicide, which is critical for ensuring adequate responses to these crimes. addressing emerging forms of violence such as technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. They also recommended engaging men and boys in prevention efforts and women’s organizations in response.
“I’ve met too many women who don’t stay silent because they ‘accept’ violence - they stay silent because the [justice] system feels unsafe”, said Lara Aharonian, Co-Founder, Women’s Fund of Armenia. “They fear being judged, exposed, not believed, or punished for speaking up - especially when they have children, no income, or nowhere else to go. Survivor-centred justice is when the first response restores control: ‘Are you safe? What do you want next?’ – and the services are connected, confidential, and timely. And it only works if women’s organizations are protected and sustainably funded, because that is where trust and expertise already lie.”
Closing the implementation gap
The meeting ended with a clear call for action – move from intent to actual delivery – through fully funded national action plans, gender-responsive budgeting, stronger data and evidence, and partnerships that centre women’s rights organizations and survivors.
“Belgium is firmly committed to ending violence against women and girls,” said H.E. Rob Beenders, Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Persons with Disabilities, the Fight against Social Fraud and Equal Opportunities, Belgium. “We have adopted landmark legislation, for example on femicide, but we know progress requires moving beyond legislation. Through coordinated policies, victim-centred approaches and strong data for evidence-based policymaking, we are working to prevent and address violence wherever it occurs – online and offline.”
The High-level Meeting reinforced a shared imperative: accelerating progress is possible – but only if prevention and survivor-centred response are treated as core governance priorities, with sustained political will and the resources to match.
