The latest report from UN Women highlights a worrying reality: while violence against women and girls remains widespread, the organizations that support them are seeing their funding collapse. Between reductions in official development assistance, shifting political priorities, and the rise of anti-rights movements, essential services for women are becoming increasingly fragile, and decades of progress are now under threat. It is a silent but devastating crisis.
Grassroots organizations are essential pillars… but still underfunded
Gender-based violence is preventable: decades of data and experience demonstrate this. Yet the organizations that are driving progress are the most neglected by donors. These structures are often the only ones offering concrete support to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV): emergency shelter, psychosocial support, legal aid, safe spaces, etc.
Faced with multiple crises, donors have shifted their priorities toward security, defense, and emergency humanitarian aid, to the detriment of the fight against violence against women and gender equality. These choices have resulted in budget cuts that directly impact feminist organizations, which are already structurally underfunded: less than 1% of official development assistance dedicated to gender equality is directly allocated to them, and only 4% of global aid is primarily focused on equality.
According to the Alliance for Feminist Movements, official development assistance is expected to have fallen by $78 billion by June 2025. Several private foundations are also reducing their funding, leaving some organizations on the brink of collapse.
Vital services are collapsing
The impacts are immediate and visible: the closure or reduction of vital services for women. In many countries, shelters can no longer accommodate all survivors of GBV. Psychological and legal consultations are being reduced. Specialized teams (psychologists, counselors, lawyers) are being laid off due to lack of funds.
Nearly 90% of organizations surveyed by UN Women report a sharp or severe decline in women’s and girls’ access to essential services. Behind this figure lie dramatic realities: women victims of violence being sent back to their abusive spouses or partners due to a lack of space in shelters, legal proceedings being abandoned, and women isolated and without support in the face of violence.
In humanitarian contexts, the situation is critical: nearly one in two organizations believes it will have to close within six months. For those that continue, teams are exhausted, unpaid rent is piling up, and the very survival of the structures is threatened..
Weakened mobilization at a time when it is most needed
Budget cuts do not only affect services: they also stifle organizations’ ability to bring about change. One-third of organizations say they no longer have the means to carry out advocacy work, monitor public commitments, or document violations. The result is less pressure on those in power, less participation in political debates, and less data to inform public policy.
This reduction in capacity also jeopardizes trust between organizations, communities, and donors. Discontinued projects or abruptly closed services leave a feeling of abandonment, undermining years of work to establish a climate of security and reliability.
The conclusion is clear: underfunding organizations that fight violence against women is a historic setback. It sabotages decades of progress, hinders the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and leaves millions of women and girls exposed to greater insecurity, discrimination, and violence.