This article is an opinion and analysis piece. The facts are attributed to the source named; the “meaning” section is the magazine’s reading of what those facts imply, not new reporting.
UN News reported on 26 October that UN Women had presented the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Women, Peace and Security at UN Headquarters in New York. According to UN News, the report says women and girls made up one in four of the more than 37,000 civilians killed in armed conflict last year, double their share in 2021, and that at least 25 women and girls are killed every day in conflict settings.
What the Report Says
UN News also reported that the UN verified 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, which it said is more than twice the previous year’s total and almost four times the 2022 figure. On peace processes, women were five per cent of negotiators across 57 processes in 2025, and none of 13 ceasefire agreements explicitly prohibited conflict-related sexual violence. On funding, 40 per cent of women’s organisations in crisis-affected settings expect to close, temporarily or permanently, within the next year because of funding shortfalls.
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, UN Women’s Deputy Executive Director, who presented the report, said: “War is getting deadlier for women and girls, and the world is allowing it to happen.” UN Women’s recommendations include protection of women and girls, their meaningful participation in peace and security, and sustained investment in women-led peacebuilding.
A Reading of the Figures
The report’s figures are the UN’s own, and what follows is our interpretation. A rough check of the numbers, which is ours and not a UN calculation, finds them broadly consistent: one quarter of more than 37,000 is more than 9,000, and 25 deaths a day over a year is about 9,100. The source does not say the two figures come from the same count.
In our view, the figures suggest the problem is not only the violence itself but who is present when the rules are written. Women made up five per cent of negotiators, and none of the 13 ceasefire texts named conflict-related sexual violence as prohibited. That points to a gap between the commitments states make on paper and what peace agreements actually contain. The funding figure points the same way: if 40 per cent of women’s organisations in crisis-affected settings expect to close, temporarily or permanently, within a year, women-led work on the ground could be badly disrupted. The source does not say which services would be affected. The source does not say these factors cause one another, so this is an inference.
Why It Matters
For civilians, the figures suggest, in our reading, that protection is falling short for women and girls in many conflict settings. For negotiators and donors, the figures offer a measurable test: how many women sit at the table, whether ceasefire texts address sexual violence explicitly and whether women-led groups stay funded. UN News does not detail the methods behind the figures.
Leave a Reply