NEW DELHI: Despite more than two decades of global advocacy, violence against women and girls remains one of the most persistent and least-addressed human rights crises, with little measurable decline since 2000. Leading public health experts, UN officials and gender-rights advocates have condemned the world’s failure to curb sexual and gender-based violence and called for stronger, well-funded action from governments worldwide.
According to SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights), one in three women continue to face partner or sexual violence during their lifetime — a figure that has barely shifted in 26 years. “The annual decline has been abysmally and painfully slow — just 0.2% over the past two decades, ” said Shobha Shukla, Coordinator and Host of SHE & Rights. “These are under-reported figures due to the stigma, fear and barriers survivors face in reporting. Emotional violence, in particular, is among the least reported.”
Her comments come as the World Health Organization (WHO) releases a new report warning that funding for violence prevention is collapsing — even as global crises increase risks for millions of women and girls. In 2022, only 0.2% of global development aid was directed to programmes preventing violence against women, and allocations have further declined in 2025.
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently described violence against women as “one of humanity’s oldest and most pervasive injustices, ” adding, “No society can call itself fair, safe or healthy while half its population lives in fear.”
Right to Health and Gender Equality Are Non-Negotiable Human Rights
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, stressed the urgent need to invest in equity and rights-based health systems. “Resourcing the movement is key — and this investment must be comprehensive and unrestricted, ” she said. Funding must not depend on excluding marginalised groups such as sex workers and migrant communities, she added.
“We do not speak about the right to health as an abstract right, but as a fundamental human right, ” Dr. Mofokeng said. She warned of rising anti-rights narratives, restrictions on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and the silencing of healthcare workers and human rights defenders. “Evidence-based policies are being replaced by ideology, ” she cautioned.
Global Backlash Against Women’s Rights Growing
Nearly one in four countries experienced a rollback of women’s rights in 2024, noted Alison Drayton, Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM. “Regressive policies and shrinking solidarity are rolling back hard-won gains. The urgency to act together has never been greater, ” she said. Protecting SRHR is not optional, she argued — it is a legal obligation under international human rights law.
Dr. Haileyesus Getahun, CEO of the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), emphasised that the right to health is both a legal and moral commitment. Governments must ensure that no harm comes to individuals exercising their rights and must build systems that enable everyone to access healthcare free from discrimination. “The Right to Health is a gateway to universal health coverage, ” he said ahead of UHC Day on December 12.
Women in Marginalised and Climate-Hit Communities Face Heightened Risks
Grassroots activist Aysha Amin, founder of Baithak (Pakistan), highlighted how SRHR remains dangerously out of reach for marginalised women and adolescent girls. “It is not just a health issue — it is a patriarchal and gender justice issue, ” she said. When SRHR is missing from universal health coverage, “most of the toll is on the bodies of young girls and women.”
She pointed to climate-hit rural communities where floods wash away health facilities, forcing women to give birth in unsafe conditions and leaving adolescent girls without water, sanitation or menstrual hygiene facilities. Such conditions expose them to infections and increased gender-based violence.
Brazil Shows the Importance of Listening to Communities
Brazil’s Vice Minister of Health, Dr. Ana Luiza Caldas, said that strengthening primary healthcare and community-based approaches has helped bring the country closer to universal health coverage. “Access to quality healthcare should not be a privilege — it is a human right, ” she said. Listening to communities, especially women and girls, has been central to shaping effective, rights-based SRHR services, she added.