As the world marks the start of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV)” campaign, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling on governments, humanitarian actors, and communities to intensify efforts to prevent, address, and ultimately end the violence faced by women and girls around the world.
Every day, IOM teams encounter women and girls whose stories reflect the fractures of today’s crises, their paths marked by courage, loss, and determination to survive.
In Sudan, a mother walked for six days through areas of active conflict, holding her daughters as they fled their village. In Djibouti, a teenage girl arrived alone after being separated from her family along the eastern migration route. In Mozambique, a mother pregnant with her second child watched as floods swallowed her home for the third time in four years.
“I met women and girls who survived impossible situations. From fleeing conflict zones to crossing dangerous deserts and rebuilding their lives after losing everything in cyclones, they face increased risks of violence, exploitation, and abuse, often with no or very limited access to services,” said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General for Operations.
“Their safety must remain a central part of every response. I am proud that IOM’s operations put women and girls at the center. But we must do more, and we must be better,” she added.
Globally, one in three women experiences violence during her lifetime. For women and girls going through conflicts, disasters, and displacement, risks sharply rise to 70 percent. Many lack access to services or the ability to safely report abuse, especially in countries where protection systems are weakened by crisis, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gaza.
On the eastern migration route, more and more women and girls are being forced into journeys once dominated by men. Many of them face forced marriages, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other forms of abuse hidden in remote deserts and transit towns. Despite these challenges, IOM continues to establish protection systems, empowering local actors and providing services and care that save lives.
IOM’s work covers 157 countries, in cooperation with governments, women-led local organizations, and partners, to bring services to those who need them most. From mobile protection teams moving between displacement camps, to identifying survivors, connecting them with medical care, psychosocial first aid, and providing dignity kits, IOM supports safe spaces for women and girls, offering shelter where survivors can speak freely and begin the healing process.
Along land migration routes, IOM manages migration response centers that offer refuge for millions, including the possibility of voluntary return home and reintegration into communities. Continuous protection monitoring along the route helps identify new risks, enabling the adjustment of services and ensuring that women and girls do not go through these dangers alone.
In areas prone to climate disasters that push families into cycles of displacement, IOM supports communities in rebuilding safer homes, strengthening climate-resilient infrastructure, and establishing community protection mechanisms that reduce exposure to risks, including GBV, the IOM states.
