Speech: There is no pathway to peace that does not begin with the protection of women and girls

Today, I will focus on forms of gender-based violence that are too often overlooked: reproductive violence, explosive armed violence, mental trauma, and targeted attacks on women in public life—threats increasingly enabled by digital technologies.

Across too many conflicts, women’s bodies become battlegrounds—through sexual violence and also through the deliberate denial of reproductive rights and health services. Sixty-one per cent of all maternal deaths occur in just 35 conflict-affected countries. In the past year, we have seen bombed maternity wards, blockaded medical supplies, and massive funding cuts.

In Afghanistan, where 90 per cent of women lack access to essential healthcare services, a woman dies from preventable pregnancy-related complications every two hours. One third already deliver without medical assistance. With bans on female workers and shrinking access to care, maternal deaths are projected to rise by 50 per cent by 2026.

In Gaza, over 28,000 women and girls have been killed since October 2023: an average of one woman and one girl killed every hour. Tens of thousands have given birth under bombardment and siege, without anesthetics, without postpartum care or clean water, and while being malnourished, displaced, and traumatized.

These are not natural consequences of war. They constitute a pattern of reproductive violence. Today, I urge that we treat reproductive violence as a distinct category of harm and hold perpetrators accountable.

The destruction of reproductive health infrastructure represents a blatant violation of international law—and it is costing women their lives.

Too often, women are seen as indirect victims. But they are direct targets of bombs and missiles.

When markets, maternity wards, girls’ schools, and homes are hit, women and girls die—it is no accident. These attacks are growing more frequent, and they show exactly how wars are being waged.

In Myanmar, air strikes increased after the devastating earthquake in March, despite a declared ceasefire. For women and girls, this meant renewed displacement, perilous journeys, loss of access to healthcare, and heightened risks of trafficking and exploitation.

Violence leaves scars not only on the body, but on the mind. Trauma compounds over time, especially when layered with loss, with displacement, and with constant fear. Mental health is not a luxury—it is life-saving.

In Gaza, 75 per cent of women suffer from depression. Girls say they wish they were dead.

In Afghanistan, women speak of living in prisons.

In Ukraine, domestic violence is rising, and more than half of displaced women report depression.

These are not isolated statistics; they signal profound suffering. Protection must include psychological support. Without it, women cannot recover, they cannot rebuild, nor lead.

Women who speak out—journalists, activists, politicians—face bullets, bombs, threats, and smear campaigns. Even when not physically attacked, they are driven out by digital violence: deepfakes, harassment, and disinformation. Online spaces have become also battlegrounds.

In Ukraine, 81 per cent of women journalists report facing online abuse.

In Yemen, manipulated images and online attacks have pushed many women out of journalism.

This is deliberate and must be addressed as a civilian protection issue.

Since adopting ten resolutions on women, peace and security, this Council has made “women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation” one of its most repeated commitments. But how can women participate if it puts their lives at risk?

Protection and participation are inseparable. Without safety, women cannot organize, they cannot speak, they cannot lead. And without their leadership, peace efforts fail, and accountability breaks down.

I come to you with three asks:

First, the Council must do more to support justice and accountability for women and girls. These atrocities continue in part because they are committed with impunity.

UN Women works relentlessly to seek justice for crimes against women and girls in war and to ensure they are recorded also for posterity. For more than fifteen years, we have deployed gender experts to every UN Commission of Inquiry and fact-finding mission, but documentation alone is not enough.

With few welcome exceptions, perpetrators face no consequences. Sanctions regimes remain underutilized. They must cover sexual violence across and alongside the full range of violations against women and girls.

Second, support women’s organizations on the frontlines. Despite everything, women resist with courage, with leadership, and with care.

In Sudan, in DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo], and elsewhere, they document abuses and shelter the displaced. In Colombia, they shape transitional justice. In Haiti, they demand protection from gang violence and rape.

Yet, these organizations are under siege. Funding cuts mean half may shut down within six months. Ninety per cent are already at the breaking point. Continued funding cuts will cost us the very women driving peace and recovery in the world’s most fragile contexts.

Support them, in your collective decisions, in your bilateral funding, and in your dialogues with governments closing civic space. I urge you to use your influence.

And you can count on UN Women to continue to stand with those women and those women’s organizations. In 2024, we channeled USD 110 million to women’s organizations, much of it in fragile and crisis-affected settings.

Upholding 25 years of commitments on women, peace, and security depends on the strength of the women’s movement—this is the fight UN Women is committed to advancing. And it is what we must collectively commit to and protect across discussions on reform, including UN80 [Initiative]. The WPS Agenda must remain steadfast and unshaken.

Third, recognize women’s empowerment as a protection strategy.

Protection and participation go hand in hand. The most effective shield we can offer women and girls is their own power, their own voices, and their own leadership. When women lead, they protect not only themselves but their families and their communities and their countries. When they participate in politics, in security forces, in peace processes, the impact is transformative.

There is no pathway to peace that does not begin with the protection of women and girls. No clearer obligation in international humanitarian law. No greater responsibility for this United Nations. And no more pressing concern for this Council.

Thank you.