Once trapped in the cycle of domestic violence, Sunita has transformed her life and is now a thriving entrepreneur in Bhopal, running a prosperous cloud kitchen. Remarkably, as she became financially independent, her former abuser, her husband, became her biggest supporter. He stopped his abusive behaviour and now contributes to her business by managing food deliveries.
Sunita's journey began with the Safe Tourism destination for women project in Madhya Pradesh, where she refined her culinary skills and launched her own enterprise. The training – a collaboration between UN Women and the Government of Madhya Pradesh – provided Sunita (name changed) not only with independence, but also brought about positive behavioural change in her husband.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day -- to invest in better lives for women and close the equality gap between men and women – also underlines the urgent need to eliminate gender-based violence. Without more investment, we cannot provide the services that survivors need, relegating many women around the world to lives half lived. There is an alarming lack of financing, with a staggering $360 billion annual deficit in spending on gender-equality measures.
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Ending gender-based violence is a key part of the Sustainable Development 2030 agenda, specifically under Goal 5 (gender equality). We cannot hope to achieve the targets in the SDG agenda without first ensuring a safe world for women and girls.
One in three women worldwide have experienced violence at least once in their lives. According to UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2023, 245 million women and girls face physical and/or sexual violence from intimate partners each year. A staggering 86% of women and girls live in countries without robust legal protections against violence, or in countries where data are not available.
No country is an exception. In India, reporting on crimes against women rose from 428,278 in 2021 to 445,256 in 2022, averaging 51 cases every hour, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. This does not necessarily mean an increase in numbers – it could mean there is greater awareness and confidence in the protection mechanism.
Economic downturns, conflicts, and climate change exacerbate women's and girls' vulnerability to violence. For example, during COVID-19, when families experienced the effects of all three – gender-based violence escalated around the world.
Gender-based violence is spilling online, too. Globally, 95% of online aggression, harassment, and abuse target women, predominantly from current or former male partners.
Gender-based violence significantly undermines women’s health, well-being, and economic empowerment. The global public cost of violence is $1.5 trillion.
In India, the Government has responded with initiatives such as Mission Shakti and the Swadhar Greh Scheme. One Stop Crisis Centres have supported more than 660,000 survivors via 704 centres. The Nirbhaya Fund focuses on women's safety, with the Safe Cities project constituting nearly 32% of its funding. Recently, India also committed to invest around $143 million to continue its overarching 'Safety of Women' programme.
Additionally, India has a strong legal framework, including the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) law to prevent and tackle gender-based violence, including harassment at work. The challenge, as in so many countries, is implementing these laws.
For our part, the UN is supporting governments at all levels in their work on gender-based violence. More broadly, gender empowerment is a core part of the UN in India’s work, UN Women, for example, in collaboration with Tamil Nadu, launched the Textile Industry Coalition to promote zero tolerance for sexual harassment and violence in the state’s women-dominated textile sector. The initiative brings together brands, manufacturers, government bodies, service providers, industry associations, trade unions, civil society organizations, and research institutions under one umbrella to ensure safer workplaces within the sector.
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Our collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship enhances gender equality awareness, emphasizing PoSH Act training for officials. Our Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces initiative had reached nearly 13,000 women in the tea, spice, and textile sectors across Assam, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, giving women information on existing laws and support. In Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, and Uttarakhand, we work with governments to make tourism sites safer for women and encourage the sector to employ more women.
Globally, in 2021, UN Women also spearheaded Generation Equality, a global initiative aimed at amplifying gender equality investments and actions.
Preventing gender-based violence is possible through diverse interventions. In Delhi, for example, Safetipin, a mobile app that crowdsources and maps real-time data from users to provide public safety information, collected data that led to the city addressing areas with poor safety scores, by installing 5,000 streetlights and improving police patrols, thereby reducing incidences in public spaces.
Further, the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, the largest UN-led effort to reduce violence against women and girls, is proving that focused and comprehensive investment can lead to substantial improvements in the safety and empowerment of women and girls globally.
The private sector also plays a crucial role. The economic impact of domestic violence is profound, affecting companies through absenteeism, turnover, productivity, and potential reputational damage. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, companies like Vodafone have taken significant steps, revising policies for remote working, hosting awareness podcasts, and developing resources like the Bright Sky app to support domestic violence survivors, demonstrating a proactive approach in safeguarding women employees.
There is an urgent need to add to this work. And we can. The time for change is now, and it starts with us.
(Shombi Sharp is the UN Resident Coordinator in India and Susan Ferguson is the country representative of UN Women India. They are part of Team UN in India.)
