UN fund seeks at least $150 million to fight violence against women

The UN fund created to combat violence against women and girls is seeking at least $150 million for its next five-year strategy, as women’s organizations face deepening financial pressure.

Over 30 years, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women has mobilized more than $250 million and supported more than 700 initiatives worldwide. An independent assessment of 36 projects completed during the past five years found that every project produced results, most of them lasting ones.

Yet the need for support has sharply outgrown the fund’s resources. In 2025 alone, applications totaled more than $2 billion. A survey by UN Women found that 90 percent of women’s organizations had suffered financial losses because of cuts to foreign aid budgets, while almost half faced the prospect of closing.

The fund’s 2026-2030 strategic plan calls for at least $150 million in new financing. Grants will run for a minimum of four years, with the longer-term goal of extending them to six years or more. Priorities include new forms of technology-related violence, violence during climate and humanitarian crises, and support for adolescent girls.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged partners to renew their backing. “Violence against women and girls is a persistent and widespread global scourge. It leaves physical and psychological scars, deprives people of livelihoods, interrupts education, and entire communities pay the price through weaker economies and growing inequality,” he said. Guterres added that more resources are needed as conflicts, climate change and new technologies expose women and girls to growing risks, alongside continuing efforts to strip them of their rights.

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Violence against women and girls is a persistent and widespread global scourge. It leaves physical and psychological scars, deprives people of livelihoods, interrupts education, and entire communities pay the price through weaker economies and growing inequality.