ACT to End Violence against Women

Global emergencies, crises, and conflict have intensified the drivers and risk factors of violence against women and girls. Digitalization and technology have exacerbated existing forms of violence and led to the development of new forms.

However, there is more evidence than ever before showing that violence against women and girls is preventable. The presence of a strong and autonomous feminist movement is the single most critical factor to drive policy change in ending violence against women.

ACT to End Violence Against Women aims to accelerate efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women through Advocacy, Coalition Building, and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT). 

ACT is a new game-changing commitment between the European Commission and UN Women as co-leaders of the Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence (GBV), in collaboration with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. Through direct investments in feminist movements, strengthening intersectional alliances, and coordinating a shared advocacy agenda, ACT will amplify women’s rights movements as they coordinate their push for justice. 

In the current context of pushback on gender equality and the rise in anti-rights movements, ACT will seek to create greater solidarity within the global movement to end violence against women.

ACT will initially be rolled out in two regions: Africa and Latin America. It will also work at the global level to elevate women’s rights movements advocacy priorities at international forums and to strengthen cross-regional networking, learning and strategizing. 

To read more about ACT, download the programme brochure here.

The ACT Global Civil Society Steering Committee is composed of 16 women’s rights experts and activists working on ending violence against women from a diversity of perspectives and regions. The role of the steering committee is to ensure continuous alignment with the strategic priorities and needs of women’s rights movements and advise on the overall strategic direction of the ACT programme.

Under the ACT to End Violence Against Women programme, strategic partnerships have been developed with women’s rights organizations, coalitions and networks, and academic and research institutes at the global and regional levels. These partners work across diverse focus areas, from addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence to championing the rights of marginalized groups, and play a critical role in driving transformative change.

The ACT Global Civil Society Steering Committee has issued a joint statement ahead of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA80) emphasizing the need for bold and transformative investments in ending violence against women and girls (VAWG). In summary, the statement calls for:

• The adoption of a whole-of-government approach to end violence against women by implementing fully costed, evidence-based, multisectoral, and intersectional national action plans.
• Sustained and increased dedicated funding for ending VAWG through official development assistance to ensure continuity of life-saving services and prevention interventions.
• Increased direct investments in sustained, long-term, and flexible funding for women’s rights organizations and feminist movements, including those working in crisis and conflict and post-conflict areas.
• The adoption, implementation, enforcement, and funding of comprehensive, evidence-based laws and policies to end VAWG, in line with global standards such as the Beijing Platform for Action.
• Increased investment in evidence, research, and field building to strengthen evidence-based approaches and ensure that prevention and response to VAWG is sustainable and scalable.

Read the full text of the joint statement and show your support by filling in this form to endorse and add your name to the ACT joint statement.