Celebrating transformational change for women and girls in 2023

On 18 July 2024, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) held a webinar on its Annual Report 2023 to highlight the key results and impacts of its grantee partners during 2023. These civil society and women’s rights organizations reached over 15 million people worldwide during the year, including at least 7.8 million women and girls, through powerful and innovative initiatives. 

Abigail Erikson, UN Trust Fund Chief, noted: “Our grantee partners’ accomplishments and impact are the essence of our work... With each initiative reaching women and girls, we are making progress towards the better future we all strive for.” 

Representatives from five* civil society and women’s rights organizations reflected on their 2023 journey, sharing their experiences and challenges in preventing and ending violence against women and girls. 

Leaving no one behind 

Amnah Badawnah, Referral and Documentation Officer at Stars of Hope in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, detailed how they adapted to emerging challenges in 2023 – including limited services, mass displacement, and widespread destruction of infrastructure – caused by the ongoing hostilities in the territory. The organization delivered specialized services, economic empowerment and awareness raising interventions, and provided medicine, emergency health care and cash assistance to women and girls living with disabilities, at risk of being left behind. 

Addressing the gendered impact of climate change 

In India, climate change-related disasters led to loss of livelihood and consequently increased violence against women and girls. The Organization for Community Development (OCD) continued its work to empower underserved women from the Mukkuvar fisher-folk community through entrepreneurship, capacity development and leadership training. Florence Varghese, Project Manager at OCD, said: “This initiative enhances women’s self-respect and social identity." 

Using technology to prevent violence against women 

“The systematic discrimination of women living with disabilities must be handled through technology to ensure they live free from violence, have better accessibility, and to remove barriers that prevent their inclusion” explained Yereli Rolander, Executive Director of Centro Interdisciplinario de Derechos, Infancia y Parentalidad (CIDIP) in Mexico. In 2023, CIDIP developed the Morada application, which provides information on the types of violence, institutions and services for women living with disabilities, through accessible, inclusive content. 

Countering anti-rights movements 

Anna Hovhannisyan, Advocacy and Policy Development Team Manager at the Coalition to Stop Violence against Women in Armenia, highlighted their work in 2023 on strengthening collective advocacy efforts with other organizations to counter the rise of anti-rights movements and shrinking civic space in the country. She noted: “Despite challenges, we successfully advocated for amendments to the domestic violence law, strengthening protection mechanisms for survivors.” 

Ending violence against women in crisis contexts 

As armed conflict intensified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023, the humanitarian crisis and mass displacement worsened, placing women and girls at greater risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Sandrine Lusamba, National Coordinator at Solidarité féminine pour la paix et le développement intégral (Sofepadi), shared how the organization adopted a holistic approach to ensure women and girl survivors of violence can access a comprehensive range of services, including legal, medical and psychological aid, and socio-economic reintegration through safe spaces. Sofepadi also worked in 2023 to strengthen community protection mechanisms. 

Key messages from 2023  

Concluding the webinar, Diep Nguyen, External Relations & Advocacy Analyst at the UN Trust Fund, shared key messages from the Annual Report 2023. She pointed to the inspiring work by grantee partners across the world to prevent and end violence against women and girls. She also highlighted the UN Trust Fund’s continued provision of wraparound services to grantee partners, even in times of crisis, which offer tailored resources and enhance the capacity, knowledge and resilience of grantee partners. 

We thank our grantee partners for their tenacity and dedication to upholding our commitment to making the world a safer place for women and girls. We also thank our donors for their unwavering support. 

* Stars of Hope (Occupied Palestinian Territory), Organization for Community Development (India), Centro Interdisciplinario de Derechos, Infancia y Parentalidad A.C. (Interdisciplinary Centre for Rights, Childhood and Parenting) (Mexico), Coalition to Stop Violence against Women (Armenia), and Solidarité féminine pour la paix et le développement intégral (Female solidarity for peace and integral development) (Democratic Republic of Congo).