International Day to End Violence Against Women: Message from UN relief chief

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings from Sudan.

Gender-based violence has been one of the devastating hallmarks of the conflict in Sudan. Sexual violence, sexual slavery and kidnapping are happening at an unimaginable scale. I have heard this first-hand over the past few days and am shocked to the core by the scale and extent of this particularly egregious human rights violation.

And it’s not just Sudan. In Haiti, sexual violence is constantly wielded as a weapon against women and girls by armed gangs. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, gender-based violence has sharply increased, with 123,000 cases reported in 2023 alone.

The list goes on.

That’s why, as we mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and as we start the annual 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women, I want us to recommit to protecting women and girls from this gravest of violations.

The facts alone should be enough to spur us into action: 1 in 3 women and girls experience at least one form of gender-based violence in their lifetime. In crisis settings, this is compounded by conflict, lawlessness, displacement, food insecurity and a lack of protection. Resources to respond to survivors’ needs and to mitigate and prevent gender-based violence remain dismally low.

As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action - the foundational international agreement on gender equality and women’s rights, including in conflict – it is time to renew our commitments: to protecting women’s and girls’ rights, to ending violence against them, and to driving meaningful and lasting change in communities affected by emergencies.

This is everyone’s responsibility.

As Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, I commit to sounding the alarm on this unacceptable epidemic of violence and abuse, to advocating for the protection of women and girls in crises in all their diversity and for the resources needed to do so, and to promoting their systematic leadership and participation in decision-making.

And I will support you in your efforts to provide the services that women and girls deserve in crises, and on championing their rights, voices, participation and leadership humanitarian responses.

I look forward to discussing further how we do this.

Best wishes,

Tom