Venezuela Humanitarian Emergency
Venezuela’s prolonged crisis continues to erode the foundations of daily life, deepening the risks faced by women, adolescents and girls. Multiple forms of gender-based violence have risen, including family and domestic violence (physical, psychological, sexual and economic abuse), sexual exploitation, survival sex and human trafficking. Early unions, forced marriages, physical violence and obstetric violence further constrain women’s autonomy and safety.
Economic precarity intensifies these dangers, as household tensions grow and many survivors become more dependent on their aggressors. Layered on top is the climate crisis: Recent reports show how floods, droughts and other climate-related events not only exacerbate existing violence but also create new vulnerabilities, disrupt services and hinder access to protection.
Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare is increasingly fragile. Chronic shortages of medicines, equipment and trained personnel, combined with power cuts and soaring transportation costs, interrupt maternal care and leave women navigating pregnancy and childbirth with precarious support. Survivors of violence often face stigma, long and unsafe journeys to reach confidential assistance, and limited availability of essential psychosocial and clinical services. For those who move within the country or across borders in search of safety, the risks of violence, exploitation and disrupted access to contraception and maternal health follow them.
In tandem, changes in migration policies in transit and host countries, including more restrictions, severely disrupt migration patterns. This significantly impacts women, adolescents, girls and boys, forcing them into irregular, undocumented situations, and increasing their vulnerability to exploitation, trafficking and gender-based violence.
UNFPA links multiple responses to keep essential care within reach. Health facilities continue to receive supplies, equipment and technical support to sustain maternal and reproductive health services, even amid power and resource constraints. Trained personnel and safe, confidential pathways to care strengthen survivor-centred case management and psychosocial support. Targeted outreach provides adolescent girls, migrants, Indigenous communities and other at-risk groups with timely information and services.
By coordinating with national and neighbouring countries, UNFPA helps to make sure that a woman fleeing violence or instability, whether within Venezuela or across a border, can still access the same core services. In a context where crises converge, UNFPA safeguards the dignity, protection and health of those most at risk.
