News on Gender-based violence

20 September 2017
News
"Please don't give up," urges a message at a clinic in Dohuk, Iraq, specializing in treatment for survivors of sexual violence. Sexual and gender-based violence are commonly seen as tactics of warfare. © UNFPAIraq/Turchenkova
Leaders at United Nations address sexual violence as a weapon of war
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “Our girls were not born to be sexual slaves. Each one of them had a dream or goal for future,” Zina Salim Hassan, a 21-year-old Yazidi advocate, told UNFPA ahead of an United Nations event... Read more
6 September 2017
News
Faith (centre) with her friends Sylvia (right) and Vivian, who all ran away from home to avoid female genital mutilation and child marriage. © UNFPA Kenya/Douglas Waudo
Escape at dawn: running away from child marriage and FGM in Kenya
NAIKARRA, Kenya – “I woke up one morning, and my father told me that we were poor and needed money,” said Faith, describing the moment she learned she was engaged. She was 11 years old at the time. Her father explained... Read more
18 August 2017
News
Women and girls face some of the greatest challenges, including the threat of dengue fever and Zika to pregnant women, barriers to family planning, and increased risk of gender-based violence. © UNFPA Peru/Juan Pablo Casapia
Over 10,000 women and girls reached in disaster-affected Peru
PIURA, Peru – Flooding and heavy rains on the northern coast of Peru caused widespread displacement and damage between February and April. Over a million people were affected and a state of emergency was declared. Women... Read more
18 August 2017
News
UNFPA mobile teams have reached thousands of survivors of gender-based violence in Ukraine. A young mother is assisted by a UNFPA mobile team in Sloviansk. © UNFPA/Maks Levin
Shattering five myths about sexual violence in emergencies
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Sexual violence is widespread throughout the world. This is true even in times of peace and stability, but it escalates during humanitarian crises. In conflicts, women’s bodies can become... Read more
3 August 2017
News
Globally, pregnancy-related complications are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19. Photograph by Lucy Tomasino
Teen pregnancies, and attendant health risks, a major concern in El Salvador
AHUACHAPÁN, El Salvador – “I could have died the day my son was born,” said Evelyn*, who became pregnant when she was only 13. Her pregnancy was complicated, and she spent most of the time bedridden and in constant... Read more
28 July 2017
News
Women participate in a community discussion about ending practices that are harmful to women and girls. In this session, they are talking about child marriage. © UNFPA Ethiopia/Meron Negash
Cursed no more – women in western Ethiopia reject childbirth alone in the bush
BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ, Ethiopia – Three times, Abebech Kabla has given birth alone in the woods. Each time, she thought she might die. The first time, she was only 13 years old, a year into her marriage. “Even after giving... Read more
20 July 2017
News
A pilot programme is working to stop the cycle of violence in Cambodia, where half of women and a quarter of men say wife beating can be justified. © UNFPA Cambodia/Sophanara Pen
To end violence against women, Cambodian project teaches healthy relationships
KAMPONG CHAM, Cambodia – Women in Cambodia’s Kampong Cham Province are no strangers to violence. A staggering 33 per cent of women in the province have experienced physical violence since age 15, a 2014 survey revealed... Read more
3 July 2017
News
A family opens up a UNFPA-supplied dignity kit at the evacuation centre in the Moneerah Integrated School. © UNFPA
Violence in Marawi displaces thousands of pregnant women and new mothers
ILIGAN, Philippines – Nineteen-year-old Tarhata Mostare gave birth to her third child at home on 23 May – the same day fighting erupted between government forces and the Maute and Abu Sayyaf armed groups in the city of... Read more
7 June 2017
News
UNFPA mobile teams have reached thousands of survivors of gender-based violence in Ukraine. © UNFPA/Maks Levin
For many women in Ukraine, escape from conflict not an escape from violence
IZIUM, Ukraine – Things started to fall apart for Mariana* when she was forced to flee fighting in the Donetsk region in 2016. She and her father camped on the doorsteps of social services centres until they managed to... Read more
31 May 2017
News
The medical centre handles an assortment of issues, from maternal care to abuse. "There is a lot of domestic violence within the camp," said Adorable, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. © UNFPA
Betou medical staff work around the clock to serve village of refugees
BETOU, Republic of the Congo – “Some months we have more than 145 births at the centre – a lot, considering that we only are six midwives working here,” said Solange, a midwife at a medical centre in Betou, a village in... Read more

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