More than 676 million women and girls now live within 50 kilometres of active conflicts — the highest figure in decades — and the gains made in women’s protection and participation during war are unraveling, a United Nations report released Monday warns.
The 2025 annual “Women, Peace and Security” report details a sharp escalation in war’s impact on women: civilian casualties among women and children have quadrupled over the past two years, and instances of conflict‑related sexual violence have surged by 87 percent in the same period.
“Women and girls are being killed in record numbers, shut out of peace tables and left unprotected as wars multiply,” said Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women. “Women do not need more promises. They need power, protection and equal participation.”
Despite the evidence that women’s involvement strengthens peace outcomes, their role in formal peace processes remains minimal. In 2024, women composed only 7 percent of negotiators and 14 percent of mediators. Nine out of ten peace processes had no women negotiators at all.
Meanwhile, global military spending topped US$2.7 trillion in 2024 — yet women’s rights organisations in conflict zones received a mere 0.4 percent of humanitarian funding, the report said.
The findings come 25 years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which called for women’s full participation in peace and decision‑making and for their protection in conflict. The report signals that progress is not only stalled but is now being reversed. “This is a crisis of exclusion,” Bahous said, warning that unresolved wars, aid shortfalls and a global backlash on gender equality are undoing hard‑won advances.
The report urges countries and aid agencies to implement measurable steps: include women in negotiating teams; rule out arms deals that sideline women; guarantee justice for victims of gender‑based war crimes; and invest in reliable gender‑disaggregated data so women’s experiences are visible, not ignored.
“This is not a data problem; it’s a power problem,” Bahous said. As conflicts spread globally and peace processes remain male‑dominated, the world’s ability to find durable solutions depends increasingly on putting women at the centre of peace and security efforts.
The report comes ahead of the UN Security Council’s annual debate on women, peace and security, where member states will review progress and recommit to action — though the report suggests many commitments remain unfulfilled.
