This is UN Women
UN Women is the United Nations organization for gender equality and the empowerment of women . It works worldwide to ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities, can live free from violence, and participate equally in politics, the economy, and society.
UN Women Austria is the local representative of UN Women in Austria . It works to raise awareness of the global goals of equality and violence prevention in Austria, to promote projects that empower women, girls, and trans and intersex people.
UN Women works worldwide to achieve equality and end violence against women and marginalized genders.
The goals of UN Women
Ending violence against women and girls
Violence against women is one of the most common human rights violations worldwide. UN Women works to strengthen prevention, protection, prosecution, and support for survivors .
These include programs against domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, femicide, violence in public spaces, and digital violence. At the same time, UN Women supports states in developing laws, national action plans, and data collection to systematically combat violence.
Political participation and women in leadership positions
UN Women is committed to ensuring that women participate on an equal basis in political decision-making processes – at the local, national and international levels.
Studies show that when women are represented in political leadership positions, laws against violence are implemented more consistently and social protection systems are strengthened.
UN Women therefore promotes women in parliaments, governments, electoral processes and peace negotiations.
Economic self-determination as protection against violence
Economic dependence is one of the biggest factors preventing women from escaping violence.
UN Women promotes equal access to work, fair pay, land, property, finance, and entrepreneurship . Its goal is to empower women economically, reduce poverty, and dismantle structural inequalities.
Peace and security from a feminist perspective
In conflict and post-conflict regions, the risk of sexualized violence increases drastically.
UN Women works to actively involve women in peace processes, security structures, and conflict prevention . The "Women, Peace and Security" approach ensures that violence against women is treated not as a marginal issue, but as a central security problem.
Empowering young women and girls
Young women and girls play a key role in social change.
UN Women promotes education, political participation and leadership programs for young people to break down violence, discrimination and harmful gender norms at an early stage .
Women and girls with disabilities
Young women and girls play a key role in social change.
UN Women promotes education, political participation and leadership programs for young people to break down violence, discrimination and harmful gender norms at an early stage .
Null Gewalt gegen Frauen und Mädchen
Gewalt gegen Frauen und Mädchen ist eine der häufigsten Menschenrechtsverletzungen weltweit. UN Womenarbeitet mit Regierungen, der Zivilgesellschaft und dem privaten Sektor zusammen, um Gewalt zu verhindern, Betroffene zu schützen und Gleichberechtigung zu fördern.
“Violence against women is not an isolated incident, but a global human rights problem – and it will only end where equality, protection and prevention are considered together.”
Why violence against women is not an isolated incident
Worldwide , one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence , mostly at the hands of a (former) partner. Violence against women and girls is a serious human rights violation with massive short- and long-term consequences for physical, sexual, and mental health – sometimes even leading to death.
This violence not only restricts women's individual lives but also prevents their full participation in society. Its effects extend far beyond the victims, impacting families, communities, and entire countries. It incurs high social and economic costs, including strain on healthcare systems, legal processes, and lost productivity.
While many countries have passed laws against domestic violence, only some have comprehensive regulations. However, studies clearly show that countries with such legislation have lower rates of intimate partner violence than countries without such laws.
UN Women pursues a holistic approach to ending violence. This is based on international agreements such as the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. Since only about 40% of affected women seek help , UN Women is particularly committed to ensuring access to high-quality, cross-sectoral support services – especially for women who face multiple forms of discrimination.
A key focus is on prevention : through early education, the promotion of respectful relationships, and the active involvement of men and boys. Prevention is considered the most effective and, in the long term, most cost-efficient way to stop violence. In addition, UN Women, together with partners, is improving data collection and analysis to better understand violence and implement targeted, effective measures.
With initiatives such as Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces and the Spotlight Initiative, UN Women has been investing for years in targeted efforts to protect women and girls from violence worldwide – especially in public spaces and in high-risk regions.