With barely any progress recorded in more than two decades, advocates have raised alarm over the “unacceptable” stagnation in global efforts to protect women and girls from violence ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, marked on November 25.
Despite global advocacy and countless policy commitments, 1 in 3 women continues to suffer intimate partner or sexual violence in their lifetime, a figure that has barely shifted since 2000, according to SHE & Rights, organisers of the SHE & Rights Media Awards.
“The annual decline has been painfully slow, just 0.2% over the last 26 years,” said Shobha Shukla, Coordinator and Host of SHE & Rights.
She warned that even these numbers are under-reported due to stigma, fear, and barriers that prevent women and girls from seeking help. “Emotional violence remains among the least reported,” she added.
The warning comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) releases fresh data showing collapsing global funding for programmes that prevent violence against women, even as risks heighten due to humanitarian emergencies, widening inequalities, and technology-driven forms of abuse.
In 2022, only 0.2% of global development aid went to prevention programmes, and allocations have further decreased in 2025.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that no society can claim fairness or safety while half of its population lives in fear. “Ending this violence is not only a matter of policy; it is a matter of dignity, equality and human rights,” he said.
‘The right to health is a fundamental human right’
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, stressed the need for comprehensive investments that support equity and human dignity.
“We do not speak about the right to health as an abstract right,” she said. “Maternal health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and universal health coverage are all part of the same promise of human dignity. They must not be competing agendas.”
Dr Mofokeng warned of growing anti-rights narratives across regions, leading to restrictions on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and increased threats to healthcare workers and human rights defenders. “Evidence-based policies are being replaced by ideology,” she said.
Backlash against women’s rights rises
The retreat of protections for women is accelerating. In 2024 alone, nearly one in four countries experienced a rollback of women’s rights, said Alison Drayton, Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM.
“Shrinking solidarity and regressive policies are rolling back hard-won gains,” she said. “The Right to Health is a legal obligation under international human rights law and must be protected and enforced.”
Founder of the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion, Dr Haileyesus Getahun, noted that governments are obligated under international covenants to uphold the right to health without discrimination. He described the right as “a gateway to universal health coverage,” especially ahead of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day on December 12.
Cost of excluding SRHR from health systems
For many women in marginalised communities, the right to health remains distant, said Aysha Amin, Founder of Baithak, Pakistan.
“When SRHR is not integrated into UHC, young girls and women pay the price,” she said, citing unsafe childbirth conditions during floods and lack of menstrual hygiene facilities, which heighten infection risks and exposure to gender-based violence.
In climate-affected rural communities, she noted, women are often forced to give birth in makeshift shelters after health facilities are destroyed. “These are serious violations of dignity, safety and health.”
Brazil’s Vice Minister of Health, Dr Ana Luiza Caldas, said the country’s progress in UHC was built on community engagement. “We need to listen to the people we serve, including women and girls seeking SRHR services,” she said. “Access to quality healthcare is a human right, not a privilege.”
Call for decisive government action
SHE & Rights and global advocates are urging governments to scale up efforts and deliver meaningful change. They recommend:Expanding evidence-based, community-led programmes to prevent violence against women and girlsStrengthening survivor-centred health, legal and social services.
Investing in data systems to track progress and reach at-risk groups.
Enforcing laws and policies that empower women and girls.
As the world marks November 25, campaigners insist that ending violence against women must become a global priority, not a yearly reminder of progress that never comes.