UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women

Photo: UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women/Phil Borges

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) awards grants to initiatives demonstrating that violence against women and girls (VAW/G) can be systematically addressed, reduced, and, with persistence, eliminated.

Since its establishment in 1996 by UN General Assembly resolution 50/166, the UN Trust Fund has awarded USD 225 million to 670 initiatives in 140 countries and territories. In 2023, the UN Trust Fund supported projects reached 15,353,322 people, including a minimum of 7,723,854 women and girls overall, and 176,246 women and girls were empowered to exercise agency for change in their own lives—specifically, through accessing specialist support services, prevention initiatives, and as co-creators in the design and implementation of projects to end violence against women and girls, including efforts to improve effectiveness of legislation, policies, and national action plans.

Administered by UN Women on behalf of the UN system, the UN Trust Fund works with CSOs and WROs to:

• prevent violence against women and girls by empowering groups, especially at risk of violence, including adolescent girls and indigenous or ethnic minority women, and engaging strategically with boys and men as well as traditional and faith-based leaders to prevent violence;
• improve access to services, such as legal assistance, psychosocial counselling, and health care, by increasing the capacity of service providers to respond effectively to the needs of women and girls affected by violence; and
• strengthen implementation of laws, policies, and action plans on violence against women and girls through data collection and analysis and by ensuring that institutions are more effective, transparent, and accountable in addressing violence against women.

The UN Trust Fund is committed to advocating for adequate, sustainable funding for efforts to end violence against women and girls. It is committed to funding organizations that are focused on women’s rights and that are women-led. The UN Trust Fund invests in sustainable change through demand-driven initiatives implemented by civil society organizations around the world.

For more information, please see:

• UN Trust Fund website
• Online grants management system
• Application guidelines
• SHINE: SHINE is an online hub for global knowledge exchange on ending violence against women and girls, produced by the UN Trust Fund in collaboration with the Spotlight Initiative.