News on Gender-based violence

7 June 2018
News
Menstrual health is a serious, but overlooked, issue among vulnerable women. Refugees in Louva, Angola, receive UNFPA-distributed dignity kits, which include sanitary napkins, soap, laundry detergent and other essential hygiene supplies. © UNFPA/Tiril Skarstein
Period shame, misinformation linked to serious human rights concerns
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Shame, stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation are contributing to serious human rights concerns for women and girls, emphasizes a new report commissioned by UNFPA.  The report, a... Read more
1 June 2018
News
Fatima now works as a health mediator at a UNFPA-supported safe space, helping other women and girls. © UNFPA Turkey
In Turkey, a safe haven for Syrian refugee survivors
ANKARA, Turkey – Tragedy had a way of finding Fatima*. She endured brutal domestic violence during two marriages in Syria. And when the war broke out, a bomb struck her home, injuring her and killing the eldest of her... Read more
10 May 2018
News
Drawing on her own experience being married as a child – and then getting back to school – Jenipher Sanni has become a mentor for girls in her community. © UN Foundation/GirlUp
A young activist in Malawi campaigns to keep girls out of marriage and in school
MANGOCHI, Malawi – Jenipher Sanni dreams of making it big in life, and this year, she prepares to sit for four exams to attain the certificate she needs to move on to university. But getting to this point has not been a... Read more
27 April 2018
News
Early monsoon rains have arrived in Cox's Bazar, reigniting fears about the health and safety of refugees. A refugee woman in a muddy camp in late 2017. © UNFPA/Prince Naymuzzaman
First monsoon rains descend on Rohingya refugee camps, omen of challenges ahead
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – Early monsoon rains have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees are living in flimsy tents of bamboo and tarpaulin, renewing fears of flooding,... Read more
26 April 2018
News
In earthquake-affected Tamande, Mendi, local emergency responders meet with UNFPA staff. © UNFPA
Protecting women and girls after the earthquake in Papua New Guinea
MENDI, Papua New Guinea – When a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the remote Southern Highlands Province on 26 February, 18-year-old Julian Ako was heavily pregnant with her third child. She and her family emerged... Read more
25 April 2018
News
Rima*, a 22-year-old mother of two, escaped both violence in Syria and abuse in her home. Today, she works as a health mediator at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Turkey. © UNFPA Turkey
Former child brides find brighter future at Turkey’s safe spaces
ANKARA, Turkey – When Rima’s* father passed away, her happiness and independence died as well, she says. She was just 13 years old and living in Syria at the time. Her uncles took charge, imposing strict rules. They... Read more
24 April 2018
News
Young women and men come to Safe Space sessions in equal numbers and with equal levels of interest in discussing topics that, otherwise, most don't talk about with anyone else. © UNFPA Maldives/Ashwa Faheem
Over coffee, young people in the Maldives discuss sexual and reproductive health
MALE’, MALDIVES – As the hammering, buzzing and whirring of construction drone on outside – the soundtrack of a growing capital city – young people gather at Male’s Jazz Café to talk relationships, sex and family... Read more
19 April 2018
News
Thousands of women in Piura remain affected by the floods. © UNFPA Peru/Angela Valverde
One year later, flood-affected women in Peru struggle for protection and reproductive health care
LAMBAYEQUE, PERU – When floodwaters engulfed the ĺllimo district on 14 March 2017, Lily Silva Aricoché led her family and neighbours to safety. During the months that followed, she coordinated assistance to flood... Read more
16 April 2018
News
Young actors perform a scene from "Ruža," an interactive play about the harms of child marriage. Photo by Almir Panjeta for UNICEF/UNFPA BiH
Drama helps battle child marriage in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina – On the surface, child marriage seems to affect few girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But dig a little deeper, and a pattern emerges among the most marginalized, impoverished girls. A... Read more
9 April 2018
News
The needs of migrant women and girls are falling through the cracks. Izdihar, a Syrian refugee in Jordan. © UNFPA Jordan/Sima Diab
Five reasons migration is a feminist issue
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Today, international leaders are convening at United Nations Headquarters, New York, to discuss the critical issue of migration and human mobility, a megatrend that is reshaping the global... Read more

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