Gender-based violence
Every girl deserves to grow up safe from violence
In many countries around the world, acts of violence against women and girls happen every day, such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, sexual assault, and forced prostitution.
Protecting girls and young women from sexual exploitation and abuse is a key priority for UNICEF and the European Union (EU). Together, we focus on protecting children from gender-based violence in emergencies (GBVie), continue to raise awareness, devise new ways to effectively tackle this critical issue and provide safe spaces for women, adolescents and children to be protected from any form of violence.
In 2018 alone, thanks to the EU’s partnership, UNICEF reached 2.3 million children who had experienced violence with health, social work, justice and law enforcement programmes in 112 countries.
The Spotlight Initiative
UNICEF is part of the EU-UN Spotlight initiative on combatting violence against women and girls.
The Spotlight Initiative addresses the needs of all women and girls, particularly those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence. The programme will put those women and girls furthest behind, first.
“The Spotlight Initiative is for the millions of abused women and girls around the world who seek nothing more than to enjoy their human right to participate equally in society, unleash their potential and live lives of dignity.”
At the moment, UNICEF and the EU are implementing Spotlight programmes in twelve countries across Africa and Latin America, and more countries from the Pacific, Caribbean and Central Asia regions are expected to join in 2020.