Report of the Technical Working Group 0n Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Including Femicide

The UN Women Uganda 4th Quarter Newsletter (October–December 2025) highlights key achievements in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment across the country. A major feature was the Girls’ Takeover Initiative, where students from Wanyange Girls’ Secondary School engaged in leadership mentorship with the UN Women Country Representative, alongside the launch of coding hubs to strengthen young women’s ICT skills. The newsletter also captures impactful moments from the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, reinforcing national efforts to end violence against women and girls. It showcases the Women Uganda 2025+ Knowledge Fair, promoting grassroots leadership in peacebuilding, and shares field stories on Women, Peace and Security, governance, humanitarian action, and women’s economic empowerment.

This collection of briefs presents key findings from the 2024 Gender Parity Study of the United Nations System in Nairobi, analysing progress and remaining gaps in staffing, organisational culture, and career progression. In 2024, women comprised 51 per cent of staff, reflecting significant gains since 2018 and the achievement of overall gender parity. While parity has been reached across national and international staff categories, imbalances persist at senior professional and leadership levels, in selected technical and security roles, and among consultants. Gender-responsive recruitment practices and leadership development initiatives have supported women’s advancement, though their reach and impact remain uneven. Flexible work arrangements, family-friendly policies, and anti-harassment frameworks have strengthened staff wellbeing and retention. However, Gender Focal Points often lack sufficient seniority, time, and resources to influence decision-making. The findings highlight the need for sustained leadership commitment, strengthened accountability, and resourced institutional mechanisms to advance gender parity by 2028.

This newsletter presents key highlights of UN Women’s interventions in Rwanda during the fourth quarter of 2025 (October-December), showcasing transformative actions and results to promote gender-responsive policies and leadership, eliminate gender-based violence in all its forms, and advance women’s economic empowerment through multi-sectoral partnerships and initiatives.

This policy brief calls for transformative, innovative, and inclusive approaches to resourcing GBVF prevention and response. It highlights global best practices, such as Australia’s dedicated multi-billion-dollar funding for its National Plan, South Africa’s ring-fenced investment in its National Strategic Plan on GBVF, and Canada and France’s adoption of gender-responsive budgeting.

Given South Africa’s chairing of the G20 G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group in 2025, this policy brief calls for renewed leadership to leverage previous commitments and scale impactful interventions. It urges the adoption of inclusive, survivor-centered, data-driven strategies that integrate prevention, justice reforms, and economic empowerment to usher in a new era of gender equality and safety for all women.

This update highlights how UN Women and its partners supported women and girls in the Central African Republic between November and December 2025. It shows how donor support helped address urgent needs caused by conflict, displacement, and climate shocks, while strengthening livelihoods, safety, leadership, and national systems to build a more resilient and inclusive future.

For All Women and Girls: Zimbabwe 2024/25 Highlights showcases UN Women’s impact in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. From launching the National Gender Policy to expanding survivor support, economic opportunities, and youth leadership, the report captures powerful stories of resilience and change. It reflects how policy, partnerships, and grassroots action are transforming lives, ensuring rights, equality, and empowerment become a lived reality for all women and girls.

This End-of-Year Newsletter highlights key achievements of UN Women Somalia in advancing gender equality in 2025, made possible through strong partnerships with the government, UN, civil society, and Somali women and girls. Despite ongoing challenges, the year saw significant progress, including landmark Anti-FGM legislation in three Federal Member States and renewed commitments to Women, Peace and Security. As UN Women celebrates major global milestones, we reaffirm our dedication to prioritizing Somali women and girls in Somalia’s recovery and future.

UN Women’s The Nation of Women report finds that economic growth and democratic progress have not resulted in equitable outcomes for women. Inequality, poverty and precarity remain deeply gendered, despite advances in education, health and legal frameworks. Women are concentrated in low-wage, informal and insecure work, face persistent pay gaps, have limited access to land, finance and productive assets. Informal employment offers little protection, increasing vulnerability to income shocks and gender-based violence, while female-headed households face higher poverty risks. Social protection systems reduce deprivation but remain fragmented and insufficient for informal workers and unpaid caregivers. The report highlights universal social protection, gender-responsive budgeting, and investment in care and labor-intensive sectors as critical to advancing equality, resilience, and inclusive, sustainable development.

Women continue to play a vital role in peacebuilding, mediation, humanitarian response, climate adaptation, despite ongoing conflict, economic instability, displacement and climate stress that heighten gendered insecurity. Their participation in peace processes, constitutional reforms, and community mediation has expanded, signaling increased recognition of women’s leadership. However, progress remains limited by persistent sexual and gender-based violence, arms proliferation, weak justice systems and gaps in survivor support services. South Africa demonstrates leadership in advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through increased women’s representation in the military and strengthened gender and GBV frameworks, despite continued high levels of violence. Across the region, climate and economic shocks are worsening food insecurity and displacement, underscoring the need for sustained political commitment, adequate resources, survivor-centered justice and women’s full inclusion in peace and security efforts.

This study maps WPS data and capacity gaps across seven IGAD member states namely, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. It reviews NAP alignment with AU and IGAD frameworks and reporting on UNSCR 1325’s four pillars. It highlights fragmented data systems, under resourced statistics offices, weak coordination, and pressures from conflict and climate. The report calls for harmonized indicators, sustainable financing, stronger institutions, and clear mandates for national statistics offices to lead integrated, gender responsive evidence for WPS monitoring and implementation.

UN Women has been partnering and working closely with Amhara Bureau of Women, Children and Social Affairs (BoWCSA) to increase women's effectiveparticipation and equal representation in leadership through the "Enhancing Women's Leadership and Empowerment Project" since 2017 by employing multipronged strategies. Among the strategies, capacity development programme on Transformative Leadership for Gender Equality for women leaders at various level coupled with mentorship support and promoting dialogue and awareness on the thematic area among various governmental and non governmental stakeholders in addition to facilitating community dialogue at grass root level have been employed since the start of the project. So far, UN Women, in collaboration with the Amhara BoWCSA, has supported 384 women leaders through four rounds of one-to-one mentoring. A total of 192 experienced government leaders mentored 192 aspirant leaders over four to six months. In the fourth round, 80 pairs participated, alongside experience-sharing and consultation platforms.

UN Women Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Office of the Federal Auditor General (OFAG), developed a first-ever Gender Audit Manual to serve as a practical guide for conducting gender audits and gender-responsive audits in the public sector. The manual aims to support auditors in integrating a gender lens throughout the audit cycle, while also providing structured guidance and illustrative examples for conducting gender audits. It reflects the vital role of OFAG in promoting gender equality, advancing accountability, and ensuring that public resources are used in ways that benefit all members of Ethiopian society.

UN Women Ethiopia’s New Strategic Note 2026–2030 outlines a roadmap to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls across development, humanitarian, and peace contexts. Anchored in Ethiopia’s Ten-Year Development Plan (2020-2030) and aligned with global frameworks, it focuses on three outcomes: (1) Women and young people are empowered to participate in society, (2) Women and young people participate and benefit from inclusive economic development, and (3) the UN system effectively responds to the needs of women and girls, and humanitarian actors. Key priorities include expanding women’s agency and leadership, preventing violence and transforming harmful norms, strengthening gender-responsive governance, advancing women’s participation in decision-making, and promoting inclusive economic development through policy reform, skills training, and access to resources for green and digital economies. The Five-Year Strategic Note emphasizes resilience, climate adaptation, and crisis response, aiming to reach marginalized groups and foster systemic change through partnerships, coordination, and evidence-based interventions.

The policy brief highlights findings from a study on perceptions and knowledge of UNSCR 1325 in Uganda, focusing on Pillar 3: prevention of violence against women. It emphasizes improving intervention strategies, prosecuting perpetrators, strengthening women’s rights, and supporting local peace initiatives. Uganda has demonstrated commitment to UNSCR 1325 through its National Action Plans (NAPs), with the third NAP (2021–2025) aiming to prevent violence, promote women’s participation in governance, and strengthen institutional mechanisms for the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Key barriers to women’s involvement include limited education, socio-cultural norms, economic marginalization, and insecurity. Recommendations include strengthening legal frameworks, empowering women, enhancing community sensitization, and creating platforms for women’s voices. The study identifies four key focus areas for a meaningful preventive system: administrative structures, legal frameworks, community sensitization, and spaces for women’s participation. Addressing these barriers is essential for achieving sustained peace and gender equality in Uganda.

This policy brief underscores the essential role of women in Uganda’s relief and recovery efforts, especially in conflict- and disaster-affected areas. Despite progress under UNSCR 1325 and NAP III, women continue to face barriers, including restrictive socio-cultural norms, unsafe environments, and weak social support structures. UN Women, in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy and Makerere University Rotary Peace Center, has promoted women’s empowerment and leadership in peacebuilding and socioeconomic recovery. Key recommendations include aligning cultural practices with human rights, engaging male champions to support gender equality, and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in refugee settlements and host communities. Active participation of women enhances community resilience, fosters peace, and drives long-term social change. Addressing these challenges is vital for achieving gender equality and ensuring that humanitarian responses are inclusive and effective.

This policy brief highlights Uganda’s progress and gaps in implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, with a focus on women’s participation in peace and security processes. It draws on a nationwide mixed-methods study assessing awareness, perceptions, and implementation of the resolution. Uganda has demonstrated commitment through three National Action Plans, with NAP III (2021–2025) prioritising meaningful—not merely symbolic—participation of women in peacebuilding, leadership, governance, conflict prevention, and recovery. While women’s representation has increased, particularly due to affirmative action and support from civil society and development partners, deep-rooted patriarchal norms, limited resources, low literacy levels, and socio-cultural barriers continue to constrain women’s influence. The policy calls for strengthened financing, education, gender-responsive institutions, and engagement with socio-cultural and religious structures to enable women to act as effective drivers of sustainable peace and security in Uganda.

This baseline survey examines the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Uganda, twenty years after its adoption. Commissioned by UN Women in partnership with Makerere University and funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the study covered 25 districts using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings reveal uneven awareness and application of UNSCR 1325, with higher knowledge levels in conflict-affected areas. While women actively contribute to peacebuilding at community level, their participation remains largely informal and constrained by patriarchal norms, limited resources, weak accountability, and poor coordination. In many cases, WPS interventions are implemented without explicit reference to the Resolution. The report recommends strengthening awareness and localisation of the National Action Plan, investing in women’s leadership and grassroots organisations, addressing harmful gender norms, and improving monitoring and accountability to advance women’s meaningful participation in peace and security processes in Uganda.

This end-term evaluation reviewed the performance of the UN Women Kenya project Enhancing Women’s Participation in Political Leadership and Decision-Making, funded by Global Affairs Canada. The project was implemented from 2022 to 2025 across seven core counties of Homa Bay, Kericho, Kisii, Embu, Samburu, Kajiado, and Wajir, with additional interventions in Migori, Machakos, and Kilifi during the 2022 elections.