Urgent Call for Funding: Displaced Women and Girls Face Escalating Threats Amid Humanitarian Crisis

Once a sanctuary for survivors at risk of immediate attacks by traffickers, armed groups, and other perpetrators, safe houses are being shuttered due to a lack of financial support.

On this year’s International Women’s Day, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, issues a stark warning that critical funding shortages are placing displaced women and girls at unprecedented risk, further exposing them to violence, exploitation, and neglect.

Reports of conflict-related sexual violence have surged by 50 per cent in recent years. However, due to severe funding shortfalls, humanitarian organizations have been forced to curtail essential services in crisis-affected regions, leaving thousands of vulnerable women and girls unprotected.

Once a sanctuary for survivors at risk of immediate attacks by traffickers, armed groups, and other perpetrators, safe houses are being shuttered due to a lack of financial support. Legal aid programs that once provided victims with pathways to justice have been dismantled, allowing perpetrators to act with impunity.

“Women and girls fleeing war deserve to find safety. Yet across the world, they are now at even greater risk of rape and other forms of horrific violence. Without immediate funding, more safe houses will close, more survivors will be turned away, and more women and girls will face violence with no medical and psychosocial support. It’s heartbreaking and unacceptable,” said Ruven Menikdiwela, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

The impact of this funding crisis is devastating:

• In South Sudan, only 25 per cent of UNHCR’s dedicated safe spaces for women and girls at risk of violence remain operational, leaving up to 80,000 people without access to emergency psychosocial support, legal aid, and medical assistance.
• In Ethiopia, over 200,000 refugees and internally displaced persons no longer have access to life-saving services, including safe houses that once protected women from life-threatening violence.
• In Jordan, at least 63 programs that provided specialist support to women and girls have closed or are on hold, leaving 200,000 vulnerable individuals without crucial aid.
• Over 2,000 adolescent girls at risk of child marriage and other forms of violence have lost access to protective programs due to funding shortages.

For years, these vital programs have saved lives, offering safety, legal assistance, medical care, and psychosocial support to survivors. Yet, despite their proven importance, investment in these services has remained alarmingly low, with only 38 per cent of required funding secured in 2024. Now, the escalating humanitarian funding crisis threatens to dismantle these life-saving initiatives entirely.

On this International Women’s Day, UNHCR underscores that displaced women and girls are not only survivors but also leaders and changemakers. Increased and sustained investment in their safety, education, and economic empowerment is essential to breaking the cycles of violence and ensuring a future where they can thrive.

The world must act now. Without urgent funding, we risk losing decades of progress in protecting and uplifting displaced women and girls. The time to stand in solidarity and provide meaningful support is now.