UN Women Warns Global Aid Cuts Threaten Efforts to End Violence Against Women

“Women’s rights organizations are the backbone of progress on violence against women, yet they are being pushed to the brink,” said Kalliopi Mingeirou, Chief of UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Section.

A new report by UN Women has sounded the alarm on a deepening global crisis for women’s rights organizations, warning that sweeping aid cuts are dismantling the very networks essential to protecting women and girls from violence. The report, At Risk and Underfunded, based on a survey of 428 women’s rights and civil society organizations worldwide, paints a stark picture of shrinking resources, shuttered programs, and rising risks of violence amid worsening global instability.

Funding Cuts Threaten Hard-Won Progress

According to the report, one in three organizations (34%) working to end violence against women and girls has been forced to suspend or close programs, while over 40% have scaled back or completely shut down life-saving services such as shelters, legal aid, psychosocial counseling, and healthcare support.

The effects are devastating:

• 78% of surveyed groups reported reduced access to essential services for survivors, leaving countless women without safe spaces or support.

• 59% said they have seen an increase in impunity and normalization of violence, as law enforcement and judicial systems falter amid shrinking advocacy pressure.

• Nearly one in four organizations had to halt violence prevention initiatives, eroding community-based efforts to stop abuse before it happens.

“Women’s rights organizations are the backbone of progress on violence against women, yet they are being pushed to the brink,” said Kalliopi Mingeirou, Chief 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, expand, and make funding more flexible. Without sustained investment, violence against women and girls will only rise.”

Rising Violence Amid Global Crises

The findings come as the world faces intersecting crises—armed conflicts, economic shocks, and rising authoritarianism—that have intensified gender-based violence. An estimated 736 million women, nearly one in three worldwide, have experienced physical or sexual violence, most often by an intimate partner, making it one of the most pervasive human rights violations globally.

UN Women notes that the current funding crisis is accelerating the rollback of women’s rights. Earlier in 2025, the agency had warned that nearly half of women-led organizations in crisis settings were at risk of closure due to funding shortfalls. The latest report confirms that those fears are materializing.

Only five per cent of surveyed organizations believe they can sustain operations for more than two years under current financial conditions. Meanwhile, 85 per cent expect a backslide in laws and protections for women and girls, and 57 per cent express deep concern about increased risks for women human rights defenders—many of whom face harassment, arrest, or violence for their work.

Backlash Against Women’s Rights Grows

The crisis in funding coincides with a rising global backlash against women’s rights, with regressive movements gaining ground in one in four countries, according to the report. Governments withdrawing support for gender equality initiatives and the spread of anti-feminist rhetoric are undermining decades of progress.

As a result, many women’s organizations—particularly those operating in low- and middle-income countries—are being forced to abandon long-term advocacy for systemic change and focus solely on emergency service delivery.

This shift, experts warn, risks undoing structural gains made since the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the landmark global blueprint for gender equality. Adopted 30 years ago, the Beijing Platform placed ending violence against women at the heart of its agenda.

“At Risk and Underfunded”: A Global Alarm Bell

The At Risk and Underfunded report provides the most comprehensive global snapshot to date of the state of women’s organizations working to combat gender-based violence. It highlights how funding reductions from traditional donors—particularly in development aid budgets of high-income countries—have severely affected grassroots organizations.

The survey reveals:

• Drastic declines in bilateral and multilateral funding following global fiscal tightening post-pandemic.

• Reduced corporate and philanthropic support as private donors shift priorities to short-term crisis response or climate-related projects.

• Administrative burdens and restrictive grant conditions that make it nearly impossible for smaller, community-based groups to access funds.

Many organizations report that even when funds are available, they are short-term or narrowly project-based, preventing sustainable programming. UN Women has urged donors to prioritize long-term, flexible funding that enables organizations to adapt, innovate, and continue advocacy alongside service delivery.

Lives at Stake: The Human Cost of Neglect

The consequences of underfunding are not abstract. Across the world, shelters for survivors are closing their doors, hotlines are going silent, and outreach programs that once reached vulnerable women are being discontinued.

In Bangladesh, for instance, women’s groups in Cox’s Bazar—home to thousands of Rohingya refugees—report struggling to maintain basic protection services. During the 2024 “16 Days of Activism” campaign, more than 500 participants gathered in the district to call for renewed global solidarity and sustained funding to protect women and girls.

“Without these organizations, women facing violence have nowhere to go,” said Mingeirou. “They are the first responders and the last hope for millions. Losing them means losing the global safety net for women.”

A Call to Action: Investing in the Future of Equality

UN Women is urging governments, international institutions, and private donors to reverse funding cuts and commit to sustained, predictable, and flexible financing for organizations combating gender-based violence.

Key recommendations from the report include:

• Establishing dedicated funding mechanisms to support women’s rights organizations at local and national levels.

• Earmarking gender-specific allocations within humanitarian and development aid.

• Strengthening partnerships between governments, donors, and civil society to align funding with long-term prevention strategies.

• Integrating women’s organizations into policy-making processes on justice, health, and education to ensure survivor-centered responses.

As the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, the report serves as a reminder that gender equality and women’s safety cannot be achieved without adequately funded, grassroots-led movements.

“Every dollar cut from women’s rights work is a dollar that could have saved a life,” the report concludes. “Ending violence against women and girls requires not only laws and commitments, but sustained resources, solidarity, and the political will to act.”