News on Gender-based violence

23 November 2016
News
Hauwa gave birth to her son while escaping Boko Haram. Now, they are receiving health and counselling services at a rehabilitation centre in Maiduguri. © UNFPA Nigeria/Kori Habib
“They would be taking us in as wives”: Boko Haram survivors recount horrors, escape
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – “It was during the quiet hours, about 8:30pm, that Boko Haram came,” 15-year-old Goggoji told UNFPA. “I could see fire as houses were burnt.” She and her mother were captured by the militant group... Read more
25 November 2016
News
Raneem Abras, 16, calls for an end to child marriage. © UNFPA Lebanon/Sima Diab
Around the world, activists call for an end to violence against women
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Violence against women and girls is one of the world’s most pervasive human rights abuses. But a global chorus of voices is calling for change. Today is the start of an international campaign... Read more
18 November 2016
News
Case workers finish a meeting at the survivors' centre in Dohuk. The facility provides a full range of support services for survivors of gender-based violence. © UNFPA Iraq/Turchenkova
Iraq centre brings specialized care to gender violence survivors
DUHOK, Iraq – The town of Duhok, in northern Iraq, is filled with survivors of conflict. More than 46,000 people are scattered across three displacement camps, and thousands more are living outside the camps, according... Read more
16 November 2016
News
Hana’a was married off at 15. She endured brutal violence at the hands of her husband. © UNFPA Yemen
Families increasingly resort to child marriage as Yemen’s conflict grinds on
IBB, Yemen – Last year, Ayisha was married at only 13 years old. She delivered a baby several weeks ago – a girl. “My family forced me to get married and took me out of school,” she told UNFPA while recuperating from... Read more
10 November 2016
News
Women and girls are at risk in Boko Haram-affected areas. © OCHA/Ó. Fagan
Return of Chibok girls highlights needs of women and girls
ABUJA, Nigeria – “We cannot underestimate the amount of support that each of these girls will need,” said Joy Michael, a UNFPA humanitarian analyst, in the weeks following the release of 21 schoolgirls captured by... Read more
4 November 2016
News
Urgent action is required to protect the lives of thousands of women and girls. © UNFPA/Eddie Wright
Risks to women and girls soar in hurricane-slammed Haiti
MIRAGOANE, Haiti – Hurricane Matthew roared through Haiti one month ago, destroying homes, hospitals, roads, crops and lives. With health and protection systems ravaged, risks to women and girls have soared. Urgent... Read more
3 November 2016
News
A displaced family walks under a sky blackened by burning oil wells in Qayyarah, south of Mosul. Nineteen oil wells were set ablaze as ISIL retreated from the area. © OCHA/ Themba Linden
Women’s health needs critical as battle for Mosul intensifies
QAYYARAH, Iraq – With military operations underway to retake Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS or Daesh), thousands of civilians have fled and displacement is expected to... Read more
31 October 2016
News
Violence against women was widespread even before the current conflict, but experts say abuses are becoming even more commonplace. A women's shelter in a port city in Yemen. © UNFPA Yemen
Violence against women escalates under Yemen's brutal conflict
SANA’A, Yemen – The conflict in Yemen has been catastrophic for its civilian population. Thousands have been killed and over 12 million people are now targeted for humanitarian assistance. Many have been pushed into... Read more
20 October 2016
News
Temawelase is a sixth-grader in rural Swaziland. Whether the world is able to achieve its development goals depends, in large part, on her fate and the fate of girls like her. ©UNFPA/Barcroft Media/Mark Lewis
The power of 10: Ten astonishing facts about 10-year-old girls
UNITED NATIONS, New York – The world’s future will be determined by the fate of its 10-year-old girls. Age 10 is the beginning of adolescence, when girls start to see life's possibilities expanding – or contracting. As... Read more
6 October 2016
News
Faouzia Yaya was forced into marriage three years ago. A new penal code has just been adopted to prevent such marriages. © UNFPA Cameroon
New rules to help end child marriage in Cameroon
MAROUA/YAOUNDE, Cameroon – “I was forced into marriage by my father at the age of 14,” Faouzia Yaya, now 17, told UNFPA. “My father insisted, even knowing I did not want it. I even ran away to my uncle’s place, but he... Read more

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