Violence against women and girls in disasters: How funders can fill funding gaps

“When conflict and disaster force women and girls to flee their communities and homes, they face grave danger … As livelihoods and safety nets vanish in emergencies, rates of gender-based violence can skyrocket.”

~ Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

According to UN Women, “1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.” In emergencies, conflict, climate shocks or displacement, the risk intensifies as protective systems often fail. For example, the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid reported that “70% of women in humanitarian crises experience violence.”

Despite the scale of need, prevention of violence against women and girls remains severely underfunded. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that we will need $42 billion to address gender-based violence worldwide. With the cuts in U.S. foreign aid, only 7.3% of the $2.2 billion requested by the Official Development Assistance for 2025 as been secured.

Violence against women and girls is a preventable crisis. Solutions exist. CDP hosted a webinar featuring experts in the field to discuss how philanthropy can step up to address funding gaps.

• Abigail Erikson, Chief at UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and Girls and Acting Head, UN Women Bonn Office
• Manisha Mehta, Program Director, Women’s Rights Program, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

Please see the slide deck and watch the webinar recording to learn more:

Resources mentioned during the webinar

Photo: Michelle Ding on Unsplash