UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 27 (WSH) — The United Nations gender equality agency has sounded the alarm that deep funding cuts are dismantling the global frontline against gender-based violence, forcing one in three women’s organizations to suspend or shut down key programmes.
Frontline Groups Under Pressure
According to At Risk and Underfunded, a new report by UN Women based on a global survey of 428 women’s rights and civil society organizations, over 40 percent have scaled back or closed vital services such as shelters, legal aid, and psychosocial and healthcare support due to funding shortfalls.
Nearly 80 percent of respondents reported reduced access to services for survivors of violence, while 59 percent said impunity and the normalization of abuse were on the rise.
“Women’s rights organizations are the backbone of progress on ending violence against women, yet they are being pushed to the brink,” said Kalliopi Mingeirou, head of UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Section. “We cannot allow funding cuts to erase decades of hard-won gains. Governments and donors must ringfence and expand support to ensure continuity and sustainability.”
Mounting Threats and Shrinking Space
UN Women data shows that around 736 million women — nearly one in three worldwide — have experienced physical or sexual violence, most often by an intimate partner. The agency had previously warned that many women-led organizations in crisis zones were on the verge of collapse, a concern now confirmed by the new report.
Only 5 percent of surveyed organizations said they could sustain operations for more than two years, while 85 percent expected severe setbacks to laws and protections for women and girls. Over half voiced concern about increasing threats to women human rights defenders.
Global Backlash
The report highlights a broader regression in women’s rights, now evident in one in four countries. As resources dry up, many organizations are being forced to focus on emergency response rather than the long-term advocacy that drives systemic change.
Released as the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action — the landmark blueprint for gender equality — At Risk and Underfunded warns that the global commitment to end violence against women and girls is at a critical crossroads.
“Without sustained investment, violence against women and girls will only rise,” UN Women cautioned.
