Addressing Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities: Results from the UN Trust Fund’s Special Window 2018-2023

In March 2023, the UN Trust Fund published the first of three briefs on disability, inclusion and intersectionality. The brief, a synthesis review, pulled together the practice-based insights from projects funded through the UN Trust Fund’s Special Window on Women and Girls with Disabilities. It highlights strong results at the individual level and in creating an enabling environment at all other levels of the socio-ecological model of violence prevention and response.  

Results overview 

• USD 9.5 million was awarded through the special window over the five-year period (2018-2023) to 22 projects in 20 countries, with 15 grantees receiving a large grant (over USD 150,000) and seven receiving a small grant (under USD 150,000).  
• Over 50,000 women and girls with disabilities were reached directly as primary beneficiaries, 14,000 other women and girls were reached directly, over 190,000 secondary beneficiaries were engaged, and nearly 7.5 million beneficiaries were reached indirectly.  
• A range of partnering collaborations were successfully enabled. Recognition of a wide diversity of forms of impairment and types of violence meant grantees used a variety of entry points to the projects’ beneficiaries. New disability-specific resources were developed, and innovative adaptations were implemented, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Overall contributions of the special window  

The special window supported the grantees to work at multiple levels and the results of their programming showed impact Four cross-cutting catalysers amplified the positive results: 

• increased visibility of women and girls with disabilities;
• transformed mindsets;
• Thinking Systemically;
• Capacitating through Resources  

One of the most significant overall insights that emerged in common across the special window was a strong commitment to operationalize the mantra of the wider disability rights movement of ‘nothing about us, without us’ in practice.