Advocacy & Lobbying

This brief provides an overview of how the UN system has advanced global efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) over the past five years. Drawing from the contributions of 36 UN entities and mechanisms for the Inventory of United Nations activities to end violence against women and girls, the brief highlights collective progress achieved through coordinated action, joint programming and partnerships with governments, civil society and women’s rights organizations. The brief documents the UN system’s role in advancing global norms and standards, with notable developments in violence in the work environment, technology-facilitated violence, conflict-related sexual violence and harmful practices. It showcases how coordination mechanisms and flagship joint initiatives—such as the spotlight initiative, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and other inter-agency programmes—have mobilized resources, strengthened laws and policies, expanded access to survivor-centered services, scaled up prevention efforts and improved data and evidence. At the same time, the brief underscores persistent gaps, including uneven implementation of laws, limited financing, fragmented prevention efforts, data challenges and growing backlash against gender equality. It emphasizes the central role of women’s rights organizations and feminist movements in driving sustainable change. Looking ahead to 2030, the brief calls for the UN system to deepen coordination, strengthen accountability, invest in evidence-based interventions at scale and reinforce locally led, whole-of-society approaches to end VAWG.

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In India, authorities often discuss gender inequality as a multifaceted problem, requiring a multifaceted solution. The existence of multiple social differences, such as caste and class, makes it more complex. Governmental programs such as the Tamil Nadu Textile Industry Coalition (TiC) aim to address this difference.

Over the years, the Indian government has become sensitive to the multidimensional aspects. It has worked to introduce solutions which address not just the issue but also encompass all its nuances. The Tamil Nadu government’s multistakeholder TiC is one such initiative launched in association with the U.N. Women.

The government announced the Council in February 2024. Through this initiative, the state aims to create a safe, secure workspace for women in the textile industry.

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The youngest victim of gender-based violence in Monaco last year was just six years old. The oldest 80.

These shocking figures emerged on Tuesday as the Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights held its seventh annual meeting, revealing that reported cases of violence against women increased from 35 in 2024 to 40 in 2025.

Speaking to the press at the Yacht Club de Monaco following the morning’s plenary session on January 20th, Céline Cottalorda, interministerial delegate for women’s rights, was straightforward about the gravity of the challenge. “We always say that one victim is one too many,” she said. “And indeed, as long as there are victims of violence, we must continue working on this subject.”

The committee’s newly published study, produced by IMSEE, shows that more than 90% of victims of sexual violence and intimate partner violence are women. In 85% of police cases, victims reported physical violence. Moreover, and quite disturbingly, in 66% of cases recorded by the victim support association AVIP, violence occurred in the presence of children.

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Never before had litigants, coming from the remote communal sections of Quartier Morin, Limbé, and Fort-Bourgeois, had access to justice so close and free of charge. Often, the distance means that people spend hours traveling to a Justice of the Peace court; the high cost of justice; the fear of reprisals; and the extreme slowness of the decisions –all these factors summarize the reality that prevails in these areas, thus limiting access to justice and the exercise of rights.

An entire judicial apparatus – comprisinf of thejustices of the peace and clerks of the courts of the southern and northern districts of Cap-Haitien, Court of first instance and court of appeals representatives, lawyers from the Legal Assistance Bureau (BAL) and the Citizen Protection Office (OPC), Gender-Based Violence (GBV) unit of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights (MCFDF), GBV unit of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), GBV unit of the Bureau for the Protection of Minors (BPM), women's rights organizations including AFASDA and AFM, psychologists, social workers, local elected officials, community leaders, –mobilizes with a competent team , to operate as a real court at each mobile court session and travel to the most remote neighborhoods of litigants, thereby making justice accessible to all.

Nearly 224 participants, including 113 women, were reached by the three mobile courts and attended awareness sessions. More than ten (10) cases of violence were recorded and addressed during individual hearings held behind closed doors, outside of the mobile courts. These cases, currently being handled by the BAL lawyers, will soon be referred to a higher level for appropriate legal follow-up and action. The most frequently reported cases of violence include assault, parental irresponsibility, and physical and verbal abuse.

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A two-day expert meeting on regional consultation on the political participation and leadership of women and youth in West Africa has been opened in Accra.

The meeting, scheduled for February 17 and 18, forms part of the 50th Anniversary Legacy Project of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on gender parity in elected bodies in ECOWAS Member States (2025–2035), which seeks to strengthen women’s and youth representation in political leadership across the sub-region.

Organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in collaboration with the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), the consultation aims to assess the current state of political participation of women and young people in West Africa, advance dialogue on gender parity in elected bodies, and contribute to the development of a regional model law or guide to promote inclusive governance and leadership by 2035.

In a speech, read on her behalf by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Dr Hafisa Zakaria, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, reiterated the commitment of the government of Ghana to advancing the political participation and leadership of women and young people as a foundation for inclusive governance and sustainable development in West Africa.

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Beyond the campaign trails, podiums, and other public-facing aspects of running for political office, If She Runs depicts the lived experiences of two women who grapple with the desire, and barriers, to enter the world of electoral politics in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Playwright Ruth Lawrence wanted to “pull back the veil” on what it really means to run in an election here, the celebrated actor and director recently told The Independent during one of the play’s dress rehearsals. 

She said PerSIStence Theatre asked her to write a play inspired by the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote, and that she knew of folks who were either running for public office, or considering it, often unaware of everything the election process entails.

“I love an election. I always have,” Lawrence said. “Some of my earliest memories are watching leadership conventions on TV.” So she jumped at the opportunity to write the play.

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