Conflict, instability, and violence are on the rise with devastating consequences for women and girls. Here are some key facts and data: 

• Rising conflicts: In 2023, over 170 armed conflicts were recorded. Approximately 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of these conflicts, a staggering 50 per cent increase compared to a decade ago [1].
• Increased violence: The proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year. Sexual violence in conflict rose dramatically with UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence soaring by 50 per cent to 3688 cases and the number of girls affected by grave violations in situations of armed conflict increased by 35 per cent. 
• Displacement: In 2023, an estimated 117.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict and violence, 70 per cent higher than in 2018. Half of the forcibly displaced population are women and girls, and one in four are children under 12 years old. 
• Food insecurity: One in every four women and girls experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023. In conflict zones, this figure rose to one in two women and girls suffering from food insecurity.  
• Attacks on health care infrastructure: In 2023, there were 1,521 reported attacks on health care in 19 countries with complex humanitarian emergencies, causing over 2,000 injuries or death. Attacks on health centres in Haiti, Mali, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and in the State of Palestine, deprived millions of women of life-saving services, including sexual and reproductive health care. 
• Girls’ education under fire: Between 2022 and 2023, there were 6,000 reported attacks on schools and universities, students and educators, and cases of the military use of educational facilities, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) found.  GCPEA identified 10 countries where girls and women were targeted in attacks on education because of their gender. In some countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, girls’ schools were bombed or burned to limit their education. In other contexts, such as Cameroon, Colombia, South Sudan, and Sudan, armed groups, military, or other security forces committed sexual violence against girls and women at, or on the way to or from, school or university. In 2024, an estimate of 119 million school-age girls and adolescent girls are not in school, and more than a quarter of these girls are in conflict- or crisis-affected countries.  
• Women’s voices in media: A 2023 report by CARE found that while media coverage of conflicts increased more than six-fold between 2013 and 2023, only 5 per cent of articles focused on women’s experiences in war, and only 0.04 highlighted women’s contribution as leaders in peace processes. 

Women’s participation in peace processes leads to better and more sustainable outcomes. However women remain underrepresented in formal negotiations, here are some critical facts and figures: 

• Stronger peace deals with women: Studies show that peace agreements with women signatories have higher rates of implementation and last longer.  
• Lack of women in peace processes: Despite their critical roles, women continue to be largely excluded from peace processes. According to new global data collected by UN-Women through the Women in Peace Processes Monitor, in 2023, women made up only 9.6 per cent of negotiators, 13.7 per cent of mediators and 26.6 per cent of signatories to peace and ceasefire agreements. The proportion of women signatories drops to 1.5 per cent if Colombia’s agreements are excluded [2].
• Gender provisions in peace agreements: The percentage of peace agreements with gender provisions has increased since the 1990s.  Between 1990 and 2000, only 12 per cent of peace agreements included references to women. By 2011-2020 the share grew to 31 per cent. However, in 2023, only 26 per cent (8) peace and ceasefire agreements mentioned women, girls, or gender.
• Women in informal peace processes: A study of informal peace efforts found that in three quarters of cases (27 of 38) women’s groups were actively involved in grassroots-level peacebuilding. 
• Women leading local peace efforts: Despite women’s exclusion in most formal peace efforts, women place key roles in local peacebuilding. For example, women in Yemen negotiated for civilian access to water and in 2023 in Sudan, over 49 women-led organizations formed the Peace for Sudan Platform to push for an inclusive peace process. 
• Exclusion of women’s groups in peace processes: In many peace processes, those igniting wars are invited to the negotiating table, while those seeking true peace, such as women’s groups, are sidelined. In 2023, none of the peace agreements reached included representatives of women’s groups as signatories. 

The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action set a global target for equal political participation between men and women. However, nearly three decades later, gender equality in politics is still far off, and many conflict-affected countries are lagging. 

• Women heads of state: As of 2024, 113 countries worldwide have never had a woman serve as Head of State or Government, and only 27 countries where women serve as Heads of State and/or Government. 
• Women in the UN Security Council: Between 2015 and 2023, only 22 per cent of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States represented in the Security Council were women. In 2024, 5 of the 15 (33 per cent) Security Council Members have a woman Permanent Representative. 
• Women in lawmakers: In 2024, 27 per cent of national parliamentarians worldwide were women. This figure drops to just 21 per cent in conflict-affected countries. 
• Women in cabinets: In 2024, women hold 23 per cent of cabinet positions, compared to 19 per cent in conflict-affected​ ​countries. 
• Women in local governments: In 2023, women held 36 per cent of elected seats in local governments. That share drops to 20 per cent in conflict-affected countries. 
• Gender quotas for equality: The United Nations continues to push for temporary special measures, like gender quotas, to accelerate equality between men and women in politics. The UN gender quota project provides information on quotas in parliaments worldwide. In 2024, in conflict-affected countries with gender quotas, 25 per cent of parliamentarians were women. In countries without quotas, women make up only 15 per cent of parliamentarians.

Women’s rights in conflict-affected areas face severe challenges. In many parts of the world, efforts to suppress gender equality and undermine women’s rights have intensified, sparking devastating impacts for women and girls. Here are some harrowing statistics: 

• Backlash against women’s rights: A disturbing backlash against women’s rights is sweeping many parts of the world. In Afghanistan – one of the most extreme examples of gender apartheid – the Taliban have issued over 90 edicts to suppress women’s and girls’ rights, returning to the oppression of the 1990s. 

• Rising attacks on women leaders and human rights defenders: Women leaders, human rights defenders, and peacebuilders are in the midst of a wave of threats and attacks. Between May 2022 and April 2023, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented 140 incidents of reprisals and intimidation for cooperation with the UN, affecting at least 108 women and girls. In 2023, OHCHR documented killings of 41 women human rights defenders in conflict-affected countries – likely only a fraction of actual cases [3]. 

• Reprisals against civil society representatives: A UN Women survey among the 45 women civil society representatives who had briefed the Security Council in 2023, 5 of 23 (22 per cent) respondents reported a reprisal in connection with their briefing at the Council. 

• Political violence targeting women and girls: Data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data in 2023, show that women and girls were the main targets in more than 3,000 incidents of violence worldwide, and more than half took place in conflict-affected countries [4]. 

• Women get weak protection from human rights institutions: Among 41 conflict-affected countries and territories, only 25 (60 per cent) [5] had national human rights institutions fully or partially compliant with the Paris Principles, which set out the minimum standards for protecting and promoting human rights. 

Gender-based violence continues to surge in conflict and crisis zones, placing women and girls in increasingly perilous and life-threatening situations. These alarming statistics reveal the severity of the issue: 

• Conflict-related sexual violence: The United Nations verified 3,688 reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2023, a shocking 50 per cent increase from the previous year. The highest numbers were recorded in Ethiopia (835) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (733). These numbers are an undercount as many cases go unreported or cannot be verified, and these crimes continue with impunity. 

• Child marriage in conflict zones: In 2023, 1 in 5 women aged 20-24 years was married before age 18. Child marriage is more prevalent in conflict-affected countries and 14 percentage points higher than in non-conflict settings. 

• Intimate partner violence: Globally, 1 in every 8 women aged 15-49 was subjected to sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner. In conflict-affected countries, the proportion rose to 1 in every 7 women. 

• Abductions and forced marriages: In Mali’s  town of Ménaka, 60 per cent of displaced women and girls reported being abducted and forced into marriage. In Haiti, the number of women and girls kidnapped by armed gangs in recent years has increased significantly. In 2022, 46 per cent of feminist organizations reported kidnappings or violence against their staff. The Lake Chad basin remains a hotspot for mass abductions of women and girls by terrorist groups. The 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram in 2014, were among more than 2,000 abducted by the group that year [6] . 

Women’s access to justice is crucial for rebuilding post-conflict societies and holding perpetrators of gender-based violence accountable. However, significant obstacles persist in securing justice for women during and after conflicts: 

• Increased representation of women in judiciary: As of 2021, 43 per cent of judges or magistrates globally were women, up from 34 per cent in 2010. At the International Court of Justice 4 out of the 15 are women. 

• Justice for sexual and gender-based violence survivors: Since 2010, UN Women has deployed more than 175 gender experts – investigators, legal advisors, forensic experts and others – to virtually every UN-mandated human rights investigation [7] . These efforts have been pivotal in documenting sexual and gender-based violence giving survivors a greater chance to access justice and ensuring that these crimes are recorded in historical records. 

• Women’s role in transitional justice: Women’s participating in transitional justice processes is key to addressing gender inequality. In 2023, women represented 55 per cent of (21 out of 38) magistrates in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia, showcasing the importance of gender representation in post-conflict legal proceedings.

• Initiatives like the Elsie Initiative and Elsie Initiative Fund are helping to increase the number of women in peacekeeping roles. By the end of 2023, most targets set by the United Nations Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy (UGPS) 2018-2028 had been met or exceeded, except on military contingents and staff officers [8] : 
  • Justice and corrections personnel: Women made up 43 per cent (UGPS target 30 per cent) 
  • Individual police officers: Women represented 31 per cent (UGPS target 24 per cent)  
  • Military experts on mission and staff officers: Women accounted for 22 per cent (UGPS target 20 per cent) 
  • Formed police units: Women represented 16 per cent (UGPS target 13 per cent) 
  • Military contingents: Women accounted for 7 per cent (UGPS target 10 per cent)  
• The number of military women involved in United Nations peacekeeping operations has increased steadily. Between 2018 and 2024, the share of military women doubled from 4.2 per cent to 8.5 per cent [9]. 
• In a study of 30 countries, the proportion of women in national armed forces increased to 14 per cent in 2022, compared with 11 per cent in 2016 [10]. 
• When it comes to NATO countries, there has been significant progress. In 2000, only five NATO member states reported specific policies supporting women’s participation in armed forces. By 2013, all 28 NATO members had these policies in place. While opportunities for women have grown, some NATO countries still restrict women’s access to certain roles, particularly in combat positions, submarines and tanks [11]. 

• In 2015, the UN  Security Council recognised the link between gender and terrorism through Resolution 2242 calling for the integration of the women, peace and security agenda with efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism. 
• Sexual violence as weapon of war: Terrorist groups, other armed groups and criminal networks use sexual violence as a tactic to incentivize recruitment and gain control over territory and lucrative natural resources. 
• Misuse of counter-terrorism laws: Counter-terrorism laws and measures continue to be routinely misused to target civil society actors, including human rights defenders, as terrorists and to prosecute them for terrorism-related offences with a view to obstructing their work. Women’s rights organizations and women human rights defenders are particularly affected by such practices. Between 2001 and 2018, 140 countries adopted counter-terrorism legislation. Fifty-eight per cent of prosecutions against human rights defenders in those countries were charged under such legislation.

• Record military spending: In 2023 global military expenditure reached a new high of $2.44 trillion, marking the ninth consecutive year of increases.  Surging military spending stands in direct opposition to Article 26 of the United Nations Charter which calls for international peace and security with minimal diversion of resources–economic and human–to armaments. It also contradicts the Beijing Platform for Action (Strategic objective E.2.) which already in 1995 called for a reduction of excessive military expenditures and control of the availability of armaments.  
• Underrepresentation of women in disarmament forums: Women make up only one third of participants in international forums where critical issues, including threats of nuclear weapons, increasing military expenditures, the proliferation of arms and ammunition and the weaponization of new technologies, are debated. Only once in 79 years has a woman-led the First Committee of the UN General Assembly – the body that deals with issues of disarmament and international security. 
• Gender dimensions of armed violence: Women and men are affected differently by the proliferation and use of weapons and armed violence. Of the 61 UN General Assembly resolutions on disarmament and weapons issues, 23 resolutions recognized the gender dimensions of weapons or called for involving women equally in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control processes [12]. 
• Weapons and sexual violence in conflict: The availability of small and light weapons in conflict zones fuels systematic and widespread sexual violence. UN data reveals that 70 to 90 per cent of sexual violence incidents in conflict settings involve the use of weapons.  
• The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and gender-based violence: The ATT is the first legally binding international agreement to recognize the connection between international arms trade and gender-based violence. Under Article 7 (4) of the treaty, State Parties are required to consider  the risk of arms ‘being used to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children” when conducting export assessments. 

• National action plans (NAPs) are important tools that help countries implement global commitments on the women, peace, and security agenda within domestic politics. These plans show how countries prioritize the agenda and how activities are managed, financed, and monitored. The number of countries with NAPs has grown significantly from  19 countries  in 2010 to 110 in 2024 [13]. ​Of these: ​ 
  • ​​​The Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action provides a path for Member States, United Nations entities, regional organizations, private sector actors, and civil society – including women-led and youth organizations and academic institutions – to drive  Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action from 2021 to 2026. As of 2024, the WPS-HA Compact have reached 225 signatories and is tracking 1180 actions on advocacy, financing, policy, and programming in 197 countries and territories. 
  • Feminist foreign policy: As of 2024, 14 countries (Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Libya, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, and Brazil) have committed to apply a feminist lens to their foreign policy. This means a state’s foreign policy is committed to promoting gender equality and women’s rights [14].  
• Regional action plans: Thirteen regional and sub-regional organizations have adopted action plans or strategies to accelerate progress on the women, peace, and security agenda and improve monitoring of results with member countries [15]. 
• Local Action plans: More countries are developing and implementing local action plans on women peace and security. As of 2024, at least 13 countries have such plans, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Philippines, Serbia, Somalia, Ukraine, and Uganda [16].  
• Budget allocation: only 29 NAPs (26 per cent) included a budget at adoption– a signal that the government puts at least some financial resources towards implementing the NAP [17].  
• Monitoring progress: Of these NAPs, 89 (81 per cent) include monitoring frameworks with indicators, which are key to tracking the government’s progress. 

• Climate change as a threat multiplier: Of the close to one billion people who live in areas with high exposure to climate hazards, 40 per cent also face low levels of peace., This often correlates with low levels of women’s inclusion, participation, and security making women especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Women who stand up for the environment and climate face significant attacks and violence. 

• Environmental conflicts involving women: As of January 2022, there were at least 3,545 environmental conflicts worldwide, 842 of them involved women environmental defenders as visible leaders. In 81 of these conflicts, women environmental defenders were assassinated. 

• Violence against women environmental defenders: Between 2012-2022, nearly 2,000 environmental defenders were killed, and many have been subjected to silencing tactics including death threats, surveillance, sexual violence, or criminalization, emphasizing the need for comprehensive protection. 

• Climate change in women, peace, and security policies: References to climate change are  increasingly being included in women, peace, and security policies. By 2023, among the 107 national action plans, 43 of (40 per cent) include such references, and 6 of 13 regional action plans and strategies (46 per cent).  

• Bilateral aid for gender equality: In 2021-2022, bilateral aid to conflict-affected contexts stood at $47.7 billion on average per year. Of that amount, $20.5 billion (44 per cent) was allocated to support gender equality, although only $2.5 billion (5 per cent) was dedicated to gender equality as a principal objective. This marked a decrease compared to the uptick registered over the last decade [18]. 

• The United Nations System-Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan: Launched in 2024, the plan aims to establish a standard that  15 per cent  of UN expenditures be directed towards gender equality by 2026, with plans in place to reach this target by 2030. The Plan also recommends that all new multi-partner trust funds establish a 40 per cent target for gender equality programming and mobilize $300 million for women’s organizations operating in conflict and crisis settings. 

• Bilateral aid for women-led feminist organizations in crisis contexts has remained strikingly low. In 2021-2022only 0.3 per cent—about $142 million per year—was directed to these organizations, a further drop from $191 million in 2019-2020 [19].  
• Challenges in funding allocation to women’s groups: A recent study examining the levels of funding reaching women’s organizations in conflict and crisis settings, which has decreased for three years in a row, found [20]:  
  • Funding initiatives are often concentrated among a few donors and in some cases may simply repackage existing allocations rather than provide new funding. 
  • A significant share of aid goes to international NGOs rather than directly to local women’s organizations. 
  • Donors are familiar with the minimum 15 per cent financing target for gender equality, but they are less aware of the 1 per cent goal for women’s organizations specifically, first proposed by the UN Secretary-General during the 20th anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) and reiterated in the New Agenda for Peace. 
  • The shift in focus towards humanitarian aid—which integrates gender equality the least —has reduced the resources available for women’s organizations in conflict settings. Only 17 per cent of humanitarian aid targets gender equality, compared to 50 per cent in the peace and security sector. 

• Commitments to ramp up financing of women’s rights: In 2024, the OECD Development Assistance Committee adopted a Recommendation on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance. This includes, increasing financing for local women’s rights organisations, feminist movements and women’s funds, and government partners to promote gender equality. 

• The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund: In 2023, the Fund approved $202.5 million in support for peacebuilding initiatives in 36 countries, of which over 47 per cent ($95.9 million) was allocated to gender equality. The Fund’s usage of the gender equality marker is a model for other funds.   

• The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF): This is the only global financing mechanism dedicated to supporting local and grassroots women’s organizations in conflict and crisis settings. Since its establishment in 2016, WPHF has supported more than 1,300 women’s civil society organizations in 44 countries in crisis. WPHF’s special funding windows help direct resources and attention to areas where gaps and challenges have been identified. In 2023, the Fund launched the “Invest-In-Women”,  global campaign which aims to raise $300 million by 2025 to support the critical work of local women’s organizations facing increasingly complex crises. 

• The Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations (EIF): This innovative funding mechanism aims to increase the participation of uniformed women in UN peace operations. Since its inception in 2019, the EIF has l mobilised over $37 million and supported 12 security institutions in 8 Troop and Police Contributing Countries to tackle barriers preventing the equal participation of uniformed women in peace operations. 

• Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and country-based pooled funds (CBPFs): In 2023, the CERF allocated $467 million (70 per cent) for projects on gender equality. Similarly, CBPFs allocated $1,025 million (91 per cent) to advance gender equality across 16 countries. Despite these efforts, massive funding gaps persist and 75 per cent of funding requested to address gender-based violence in crises in 2023 was left unfunded [21].  

• UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace, and security: Since 2000, the UN Security Council has adopted 10 key resolutions on women, peace, and security: resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019), and 2493 (2019).  These resolutions form the foundation for the women, peace and security agenda [22].   

• Increasing attention to gender issues in Security Council decisions: The Security Council’s focus on gender-related issues has significantly increased in the last decade. Between 2015 and 2023, over 65 per cent of the decisions included gender-related considerations, compared to 35 per cent in the previous 15 years. However, in 2023 the proportion of decisions including gender issues dropped to 58 per cent in 2023, the lowest level in seven years [23].  

• Women’s voices at the Security Council: Since the first woman representing civil society was invited to brief the Security Council in 2004, more than 300 women from civil society have briefed the Security Council. More than half of them did so between 2021 and 2023 [24].  

• Sanctions for sexual violence: A report by the International Peace Institute found that out of 676 individuals and 193 entities currently subjected to sanctions adopted by the Security Council, only 25 individuals and 2 entities were sanctioned for sexual violence and other violations, with none facing sanctions exclusively for this reason.