Durable impact and delivery at the centre of efforts to end violence against women and girls

Created in 2020, the Group now counts 96 members across all regions and works to strengthen cooperation, share solutions, and mobilize political and financial support to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.

“It’s time to pull the world back from the brink of celebrating war while abandoning women and girls”, led UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

“That begins with calling out the forms of power that we are rewarding. It continues with refusing impunity in every guise. It deepens when we protect those who speak out for justice.”

While Member States have expanded legal and policy frameworks – including widespread strengthening of laws and national action plans in recent years – violence remains pervasive, affecting nearly one in three women globally.

The event’s speakers underscored that hard-won gains are being tested by conflict, economic pressure, growing backlash against gender equality, shrinking civic space, and new threats in the digital sphere. It was also stressed that – despite progress in strengthening laws, services and access to justice – accountability remains too often out of reach, leaving a stark gap between global commitments and the lived realities of women and girls.

“But no country can do this alone”, said Hadja Lahbib, EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Response. “The backlash is coordinated. So our response must also be coordinated. As we mark the fifth anniversary of the Group of Friends, let’s renew our commitment together. To stand beside women and girls, for their safety, their dignity, and their justice.”

A central theme was the gap between commitments and real-world access to justice – the focus of CSW70. Participants highlighted that funding shortfalls are forcing women’s rights organizations and frontline services to scale back at precisely the moment demand is increasing. Without predictable, long-term financing – and stronger coordination across justice, health and social services – laws and plans will not translate into safety, protection and accountability for survivors.

Echoing the Group of Friends statement delivered during the CSW general discussion, participants underlined that access to justice must be treated as both a central entry point and an indispensable requirement for prevention, accountability and meaningful redress. They also pointed to the need for comprehensive legal frameworks that address all forms of violence, are effectively implemented, and keep pace with evolving harms.

Discussions also highlighted the role of targeted partnerships in helping countries move from policy to practice, including the EU-funded UN Women ACT to End Violence against Women Programme, which invests in women’s rights movements and strengthens cross-sector alliances to drive more coordinated advocacy and accountability against a backdrop of funding cuts across the globe.

“The strong feminist movements and organizations we depend on are ever-more underfunded”, warned UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. “UN-Women’s analysis shows us that over one-third are suspending programmes addressing violence, and almost all report severe reductions in women’s and girls’ access to essential services.”

The discussion also reflected how technology-facilitated violence is reshaping the landscape of harm, with uneven enforcement and limited remedies – leaving women such as human rights defenders, journalists, and those in public life particularly exposed. This concern was also reflected in the Group’s endorsed priorities, which noted that online violence remains under-regulated and is testing the capacity of justice systems to deliver accountability and redress.

Across a moderated discussion, speakers shared practical approaches to strengthen implementation: gender-responsive budgeting, multisectoral coordination, and institutionalized partnerships with civil society. Participants emphasized that women’s movements are indispensable to reaching survivors and sustaining prevention – while States remain responsible for resourcing national responses and ensuring accountability.

The Group of Friends reaffirmed that women’s organizations and feminist movements are central to facilitating access to institutions, services and justice. Therefore safe, enabling environments and adequate, long-term, sustainable funding for civil society are not optional add-ons, but a crucial investment in ending violence against women and girls.

As Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Founder of Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and ACT Partner, explained: “The laws exist, but they continue to fail survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. The problem is not a lack of legislation, but a lack of enforcement, resourcing, and accountability. Justice systems must be accessible and affordable, while civic space for women’s rights defenders is protected. Through the EU-funded ACT to End Violence against Women programme, women’s rights organizations are generating evidence and pushing the reforms survivors need.”

Justice systems and services must be inclusive, survivor-centred and gender-responsive, the speakers stressed – so that women and girls can seek safety, support and accountability without discrimination or re-traumatization. They also emphasized that lasting progress depends not only on response, but on prevention: addressing root causes, challenging harmful gender norms, and working in partnership across institutions, communities, and civil society.