Tens of millions of women and girls are subjected to gender-based violence (GBV) worldwide, yet the services intended to support and protect them are dwindling. Chronic underfunding has long plagued the GBV response, but in 2025, the crisis has now reached a tipping point. As violence in conflict zones continues to escalate and natural disasters have displaced millions, the need for lifesaving GBV support is significantly increasing. Against this background, aid budget cuts are triggering the collapse of essential services, leaving millions of women and girls facing gender violence without appropriate shelter, healthcare or justice.
In 2022, donors allocated just 0.2% of global aid to GBV responses. According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, GBV prevention initiatives accounted for less than 1% of all humanitarian assistance worldwide. Yet, in conflict-affected areas, nearly 70% of women experience violence, almost double the rate outside of crisis zones.
Since 2021, demand for GBV support has surged by 40%, while available funding has increased by less than 5%. The system had already reached breaking point before the wave of brutal cuts and abrupt donor withdrawals in the first half of 2025. As a result, over 60 million women and girls worldwide are currently at risk of GBV and without urgent and sufficient funding, 36 million may be denied access to support by the end of this year.
Full-scale GBV services require an estimated US$1.04 billion globally in 2025, with only 7.6% being covered so far. Given the unprecedented aid cuts announced by donors, funding now remains far beyond reach.
In early 2025, the United States abruptly withdrew US$377 million in aid grants to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which was the largest global channel for women’s health support. UNFPA’s Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, warned that this would force thousands of health clinics to shut down and deny countless rape survivors access to trauma counseling, medical care, and safe spaces.
These funds were initially earmarked for maternal health and GBV services in crisis zones, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, and Syria and the loss the financial aid has left massive operational gaps, many of which will be impossible to fill.
The human cost of these funding cuts is alarmingly visible in regions that have already been crippled by conflict, displacement, and poverty. Cases of rape and child marriage are rising as families struggle to survive, and even as needs escalate, GBV service infrastructures are collapsing under financial pressure.
The 2025 GBV funding crisis is a brutal reminder of how fragile protection systems actually are and how quickly they collapse under financial strain. Without immediate funding replenishment and meaningful political will, global promises to end gender-based violence will remain just that, merely promises.
Experts caution that continued disinvestment will worsen the crisis for years to come. Reversing the 2025 cuts, while essential, will no longer be sufficient. Countries must implement long-term, systemic solutions to sustain protection services and uphold human dignity. Every budget cut leaves another woman or girl at risk of violence, exploitation, or even death.