News on Gender-based violence

9 April 2019
News
Khadija had no income after she left her husband. © UNFPA Morocco
Survivors of gender-based violence get a fresh start in Morocco
FEZ, Morocco – “I was forced to leave home with my baby in my hands," Khadija, 42, told UNFPA. When she finally decided to divorce her husband after over 10 years of suffering abuse, she thought her agony would end. She... Read more
10 April 2019
News
Marta Paula, from Guinea-Bissau, was hospitalized when she gave birth at 13. Doctors were worried she might die. Today, she calls for young people to have access to family planning. © UNFPA/I. Barbosa
Vast numbers of women lack decision-making power over their own bodies, says UNFPA flagship report
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Reproductive rights and choices have become a reality for more women than ever, says UNFPA’s flagship report, State of World Population 2019, released today. Yet despite these gains, vast... Read more
1 April 2019
News
More than 200 million of women and adolescent girls are not using modern contraceptives even though they want to avoid pregnancy, the 52nd Commission on Population and Development heard today. In Thailand, a UNFPA-supported emergency shelter for pregnant teens. © UNFPA/Ruth Carr
Declaration affirms global support for reproductive health and rights
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Ministers and representatives of Governments unanimously adopted a political declaration today reaffirming support for the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and... Read more
29 March 2019
News
The ICPD marked a revolution in thinking about sexual and reproductive health and rights. © UN Photo
Explainer: What is the ICPD and why does it matter?
UNITED NATIONS, New York – This year marks the 25th anniversary of the ICPD – a milestone in reproductive health and rights. On Monday, world leaders are gathering at the United Nations to discuss progress made since... Read more
19 March 2019
News
After years of conflict, the population is seeing a cascade of health and human rights problems fall "like dominoes". © UNFPA Syria/Sufian Abdul-Mouty
Health, rights situation critical among women and girls in conflict-scarred Dara’a
DARA’A, Syrian Arab Republic – With the crisis in Syria soon to enter its ninth year, the people of Dara’a Governorate face especially harrowing conditions, with hostilities killing civilians as recently as July.  Dara’... Read more
11 March 2019
News
Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA's Executive Director, met with community role models in Kibera, the largest informal settlement in Kenya. © UNFPA
Leaders call for securing sexual and reproductive health and rights in Kenya’s largest slum
NAIROBO, Kenya – “When sleeping women awake, mountains move,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA’s Executive Director, quoting a Kenyan proverb at an event in the sprawling Kibera informal settlement. The event, held on... Read more
28 February 2019
News
“We have been traveling for a week without being able to sleep, take a shower or eat well. I get tired easily, and have vomiting and headaches," said Mariana, who is five months pregnant. © UNFPA Peru
Fear and exhaustion shadow Venezuelan women on the long trek to Peru
TUMBES, Peru – “I have been told that it was too dangerous to travel alone, but I did it for my family’s and my own well-being,” said Britney, 18, part of a mass exodus of people leaving Venezuela in search of a better... Read more
27 February 2019
News
In this Islamic study group, older women bring up questions that younger women are too embarrassed to raise. © UNFPA WCARO/Habibou Dia
Female Islamic preachers call for women’s rights, contraception in Niger
MARADI, Niger – The preacher Malama Ouani may seem like an unlikely advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She teaches women about Islam and family welfare during study groups, known as “madrassas,” in... Read more
16 February 2019
News
UNFPA brought critical reproductive health supplies to resident of the settlement, where conditions are dire. © UN in Syria
118-truck convoy delivers urgent aid to stranded residents in Rukban, Syria
RUKBAN, Syria – As part of the largest-ever humanitarian convoy by the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, UNFPA has delivered critical reproductive health supplies, hygiene and dignity kits to women and... Read more
7 February 2019
News
Eman, from West Mosul, needed a Caesarean section for her fifth child. © UNFPA Iraq/Jared Kohler
Reaching women in Mosul, where the shadow of conflict still lingers
MOSUL, Iraq – After the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS or Daesh) captured Mosul in 2014, most of the maternity wards and hospitals in the city were shuttered, leaving hundreds of... Read more

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