KEY POINTS
- No country has achieved full legal equality between men and women, UN Women reports.
- Rising conflicts, discriminatory laws and weak justice systems are worsening gender inequality.
- Nearly 90% of organisations tackling violence against women face funding cuts.
MAIN STORY
The UN Women has warned that women’s rights are facing significant setbacks worldwide, with no country yet achieving full legal equality between women and men.
In a new report titled Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls, the United Nations gender equality agency said legal frameworks in many countries are being reshaped in ways that restrict women’s freedoms, silence their voices and enable abuse to go unpunished.
The report highlights how justice systems across the world are failing to adequately protect women and girls, exposing them to violence, discrimination and impunity amid growing backlash against gender equality.
Speaking on the findings, Sarah Hendriks, Director of Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division at UN Women, said global challenges such as democratic backsliding, rising conflicts, economic pressures and shrinking civic spaces were undermining progress on women’s rights.
Despite the challenges, Hendriks noted that progress had been made in the past. She said family law reforms since 1970 had enabled more than 600 million women to access economic opportunities globally.
However, the report warned that discriminatory laws and systemic barriers continue to create a “justice gap”, with women facing greater obstacles to justice than men in nearly 70 per cent of the countries surveyed.
According to the report, women worldwide currently have only 64 per cent of the legal rights enjoyed by men, while 54 per cent of countries still lack consent-based legal definitions of rape.
THE ISSUES
The report identified five major barriers preventing women and girls from accessing justice globally.
These include discriminatory legal frameworks, restrictive social norms, weak implementation of existing laws, reliance on traditional justice systems operating outside state oversight, and the impact of armed conflicts.
The situation is further aggravated by rising global conflicts, which have increased the vulnerability of women and girls to gender-based violence.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
Hendriks warned that organised resistance to gender equality is contributing to the erosion of women’s rights globally.
“Justice systems do not stand apart from these pressures; they actually reflect them,” she said.
“A justice system that does not serve women and girls cannot call itself just. Now is the moment to turn equality from promise into reality in every sphere of life.”
She also expressed concern over declining funding for organisations addressing violence against women and girls, noting that nearly 90 per cent of such groups have reported reductions in essential services.
WHAT’S NEXT
The report outlines eight key recommendations for governments to implement by 2030, including reforms that ensure justice systems are shaped by women’s needs and experiences.
It also calls for increased government funding and stronger institutional support for organisations working to combat gender-based violence and advance women’s rights.
BOTTOM LINE
The UN Women report underscores a troubling global trend: despite decades of progress, women’s rights remain fragile, with systemic barriers, conflict and funding shortages threatening hard-won gains in gender equality.
