25 Years Later: The Legacy of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women1– a quarter-century period that has seen both progress and backsliding, when it comes to ending gender-based violence globally.
For example, just last week, South Africa publicly decried gendered violence as a national disaster following mass demonstrations during the country's inaugural hosting of the annual Group of 20 (G20) summit2. But it was also the same year that the United Nations (UN) announced that the country had one of the highest rates of gender based violence in the world, one five times higher than the global average3.
South Africa is only one example of this global crisis; The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN, alongside other groups, recently released a data-driven report underpinning the largely diminutive progress the world has made in ending partner and non-partner-facilitated sexual violence against women and girls in the last century4. By the numbers, global violence against women and girls has only decreased by 0.2% annually since 2000.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized the disparity between the world's lackluster response to the deeply entrenched and widespread issue, highlighting the implications of failing to address it on both a societal and individual scale.
"No society can call itself fair, safe or healthy while half its population lives in fear," he said. "Ending this violence is not only a matter of policy; it is a matter of dignity, equality and human rights. Behind every statistic is a woman or girl whose life has been forever altered. Empowering women and girls is not optional, it's a prerequisite for peace, development and health."
To begin understanding why this issue persists, it is essential first to have a fundamental understanding of what the term "violence" truly encompasses: the United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.5"
This definition goes beyond what tends to come to mind when thinking about violence against women, which often starts and stops at sexual assault, femicide, and domestic violence. Violence, under this umbrella, also encompasses other forms of abuse, such as child marriage, survival sex work, human trafficking, withholding basic needs, cutting off access to support systems, challenging bodily autonomy, and bullying motivated by gender stereotypes, and technology-facilitated digital abuse.
The data showing developments in responses to gender based violence has only recently become available. Indeed, it is challenging to quantify critical points of progress across these forms of abuse, especially when much of the needed change truly comes from more subtle methods, such as eradicating patriarchal cultural values, or cascading effects, such as by electing leaders who prioritize these issues across various levels of governance.
However, we do know that:
● From 2000 to 2020, almost 700 institutional mechanisms designed to address domestic and sexual violence against women were instituted around the world. On a broader scale, to date, 191 countries have adopted over 1,500 pieces of legislation tackling violence against women6.
● Women living in countries with some form of legislation against domestic violence did see a difference in the rates of intimate partner or non-partner violence. In countries where these laws exist, rates of violence sit around 9.5%; in nations where they do not, the average is closer to 16.1%.
● Between 2014 and 2024, the percentage of women worldwide who were able to open independent financial accounts increased from 59% to 73%, marking a new era of economic independence facilitated by the use of digital currency. However, even as the number of women maintaining financial autonomy grows, women in developing nations remain behind. Seven hundred million remain unbanked, often citing a lack of personal funds and the cost of account maintenance as barriers to obtaining this critical tool7.
● Over the last 30 years, some countries have seen a significant drop in rates of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Sierra Leone (34% decrease), Ethiopia (30% decrease), and Burkina Fason (51% decrease), Liberia (34% decrease)9.Twenty-one countries have seen a reduction, and three countries (the Maldives, Benin, Iraq, and Tanzania) have reduced the rate of FGM in their respective countries to below 5%.
● In 1996, Spain became the first country to pass a law addressing femicide. Since then, 28 countries have followed suit9.
Though these markers of progress are outweighed by statistics that showcase the persistently disproportionate weight women carry in almost every sector of life, as evidenced by a recent UN publication10, with factors like geographical region, age, disability, and other facets of identity.
● One third, or 840 million, of women globally have experienced intimate sexual or physical violence from a partner or non-partner in their lifetime. Rates of violence against women differ between countries that are considered to be developed versus developing, with developing regions having rates between 1.5 and 3 times higher than the global average.
● 80% of all individuals displaced as a result of climate change are women.
● Crisis has repeatedly fueled an uptick in domestic violence, sexual assault, and child marriage across the world. In New Zealand, rates of domestic violence surged by 53% after the Canterbury earthquake, while in Mississippi, following Hurricane Katrina, rates of sexual assault quintupled. Human trafficking in Nepal rose from 3,000-5,000 to 12,000-20,000 following an earthquake in 2015, and regions affected by conflict see rates of child marriage higher than regions without.
● Over 50% of women in South Korea, Arab states, the Western Balkans, and Eastern Europe reported having experienced digital harassment.
This duplex growth in frameworks and violence against women evidences how passing legislation is not sufficient. Lackluster enforcement of laws, dwindling government funding into the issue, and surface level measures that do not get to the heart of what truly drives this violence in all forms– misogyny– all contribute to its enduring nature, or, as UN Women's Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, once put it, a harm that "damages flesh and reverberates in memory.11"
Failure to rectify existing open wounds in the movement to end violence against women and girls is also allowing those wounds to deepen through an advancement in gender-based violence: that which is assisted by technology. Violence in the form of actions like stalking, harassment, and doxxing has all become easier and more anonymous, heightening the fear, trauma, and implications when conducted against women.
Even more nefarious are the various ways artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that has begun to touch every aspect of life, has been integrated into this landscape of violence: about 90-95% of all products made by using deepfakes are sexually exploitative of women12.
This subsection of gender based violence is at the heart of this year's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign11, which calls on change in four different ways: robust legal measures to hold individuals accountable, stronger safeguards and gender equity within the corporations that maintain these digital platforms, comprehensive support for survivors, and more measures that prevent, rather than scramble to rectify, this form of violence.
Toolkits, explainers, and other resources are available through the United Nations for individuals looking to play their part in this year’s campaign, but it is important to keep in mind that ending gender-based violence will require far more than marking an anniversary or taking action during a designated two week period each year. It requires that individuals and entities continuously confront and resolve the systems, technologies, and beliefs that allow this harm to endure, instead of allowing them to evolve.
The numbers and the reality in front of us may look demoralizing, but progress is possible when everyone maintains the promise of change in any capacity they hold. May this 25-year milestone renew our energy globally to commit to a better world for all individuals.
References
- United Nations. (n.d.). Background | United Nations https://www.un.org/en/observances/ending-violence-against-women-day/background
- Ngcobo, K. (2025, November 21). South Africa declares gender violence a national disaster after protests. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn979g302l9o
- Call for responsible parties to scale up Institutional Response to Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in South Africa and Lesotho. (n.d.). UN Women – Africa. https://africa.unwomen.org/en/programme-implementation/2025/05/call-for-responsible-parties-to-scale-up-institutional-response-to-violence-against-women-and-girls-vawg-in-south-africa-and-lesotho
- World Health Organization Media Team. (2025, November 19). Lifetime toll: 840 million women faced partner or sexual violence. The World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/19-11-2025-lifetime-toll--840-million-women-faced-partner-or-sexual-violence
- United Nations. Declaration on the elimination of violence against women. New York : UN, 1993.
- Global database on Violence against Women and Girls | UN Women Data Hub. (n.d.). UN Women Data Hub. https://data.unwomen.org/global-database-on-violence-against-women
- Bonfert, A. T., & Norris, A. (2025, November 11). Women’s financial inclusion is rising, but equal access and use still lag. World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/more-women-have-financial-accounts--yet-equal-access-and-use-rem
- Female genital mutilation (FGM). (2024, March). UNICEF. https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/female-genital-mutilation/
- Elefante, M., & Wang, S. (2025, June 17). Femicide laws worldwide: 50 years of evolution and ongoing gaps. World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/femicide-laws-worldwide--50-years-of-evolution-and-ongoing-gaps
- Facts and figures: Ending violence against women | UN Women – Headquarters. (2025, November 19). UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures-ending-violence-against-women
- A staggering one-in-three women, experience physical, sexual abuse. (2019, December 9). UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1052041
- 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. (2025, November 18). UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/16-days-of-activism