Despite hard fought gains, we are not on track to meet SDG 5 – the sustainable development goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. Decades of progress have faltered or even reversed as we witness alarming rates of gender-based violence, the restriction of bodily rights and an increased heavy care burden on women.
UN Women UK’s work is based on the fundamental belief that every woman has the right to live a life free from violence, poverty, and discrimination, and that gender equality is a prerequisite to achieving global development. No woman is free until she is safe. Safety is a fundamental human right. Yet, for too many women all over the world, including the UK, safety is a daily concern.
The rising tide of violence against women in 2024 demands an urgent and unified response. The latest report on femicides by UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals that femicide—the most extreme form of violence against women and girls—remains pervasive globally. Globally, 85,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2023. 60% of these homicides – 51,000 – were committed by an intimate partner or other family member. 140 women and girls die every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative, which means one woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes.
In the UK, a woman is killed by a man every three days on average (ONS 2024). Violence against women and girls is an epidemic so serious the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has declared it a “national emergency”. It has always been a national emergency.
These realities demand that we all—governments, communities, workplaces, and individuals—act with courage, urgency, and unwavering commitment to end violence against women and girls.
Violence is not inevitable. It is preventable.
Led by the UN communities, governments, grassroots and private sector organisations across the world have recently observed the 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence – an annual campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day. These 16 days ignite an international movement and conversation around the root causes of gender inequality and violence and act as a global call to action.
UN Women UK urges governments and private sector companies to end femicide by accelerating whole-of-government National Action Plans to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The Femicides in 2023: Global Estimates of Intimate Partner/Family Member Femicides report highlights that many femicides could have been prevented. In many cases, it is clear that such killings can follow a culmination of ongoing domestic violence. 37% of women killed by their intimate partner had previously reported experiencing physical, sexual, or psychological violence. This underscores the importance of interventions such as restraining orders and victim support systems to prevent such tragedies.
Furthermore, we call on companies across every industry to adopt corporate policies to support survivors and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This is particularly pertinent as from 26 October 2024 all UK employers are required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.
We need tougher measures to hold perpetrators to account by strengthening law enforcement and justice sectors and we must ensure women’s and marginalised groups’ meaningful access to gender-responsive justice where they can seek remedies without fear of negative consequences.
As a community we all must listen, learn, and act. Every small step—from calling out sexist behaviour to supporting victim-survivors—contributes to cultural change and helps to dismantle the power imbalances and harmful norms that perpetuate this crisis.
Prevention requires all of us to act
Taking action against violence against women and girls in all its forms requires full participation from individuals and communities. UN Women UK has recently launched a national behavioural change campaign to encourage bystander intervention and encourage us all, especially men, to tackle violence against women and girls.
As an active bystander (someone who might witness harassment or other forms of gender-based violence firsthand or who is subsequently informed of the incident) the Stop, Support, Report framework helps to move people from a passive state to an active state, without putting their own personal safety at risk.
- Stop and offer your help (focus on the person not the perpetrator). For example, you could create a distraction by stopping to ask for directions or make eye contact with the target and give them the opportunity to ask you for help.
- Support the person to safety (check what would make them feel safe, walk them to the bus/train, call a taxi, wait with them until a friend arrives).
- Report it only if they want to (this could be: Calling 999, Text British Transport Police on 61016 or to the security or management team of the event or space).
Active bystander intervention is a crucial part of a whole-systems approach. When we intervene, we signal to perpetrators that their behaviour is unacceptable. If this message is constantly reinforced within our communities and our workplaces, we can shift the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. It’s on all of us to enact meaningful change by adapting our behaviour to help defuse situations, discourage harassers, and support victims.
Despite the harrowing statistics, the pain, the loss, I firmly believe in the power of humanity to come together, to demand a society where every woman and girl can live in safety. But this requires a collective commitment: please don’t look away.
UN Women UK has created a suite of #StopSupportReport active bystander training tools accessible to everyone. You can find out more information here as well as learn about other ways to support and fundraise to end gender-based violence.
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Tabitha is Executive Director of UN Women UK, whose mission is to ensure every woman and girl has access to safety, choice and a voice. UN Women is the only global organisation working to make gender equality a reality in every way: from grassroots programmes with the most vulnerable women and girls, to changing attitudes, and helping governments design gender-equal policy. In 2023 Tabitha became the Chair of domestic abuse charity Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, continuing her work to play a part in ending all gendered violence.
