Conflict, instability, and violence are on the rise with devastating consequences for women and girls. Here are some key facts and data: 

• Rising conflicts: In 2023, over 170 armed conflicts were recorded. Approximately 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of these conflicts, a staggering 50 per cent increase compared to a decade ago [1].
• Increased violence: The proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year. Sexual violence in conflict rose dramatically with UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence soaring by 50 per cent to 3688 cases and the number of girls affected by grave violations in situations of armed conflict increased by 35 per cent. 
• Displacement: In 2023, an estimated 117.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict and violence, 70 per cent higher than in 2018. Half of the forcibly displaced population are women and girls, and one in four are children under 12 years old. 
• Food insecurity: One in every four women and girls experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023. In conflict zones, this figure rose to one in two women and girls suffering from food insecurity.  
• Attacks on health care infrastructure: In 2023, there were 1,521 reported attacks on health care in 19 countries with complex humanitarian emergencies, causing over 2,000 injuries or death. Attacks on health centres in Haiti, Mali, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and in the State of Palestine, deprived millions of women of life-saving services, including sexual and reproductive health care. 
• Girls’ education under fire: Between 2022 and 2023, there were 6,000 reported attacks on schools and universities, students and educators, and cases of the military use of educational facilities, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) found.  GCPEA identified 10 countries where girls and women were targeted in attacks on education because of their gender. In some countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, girls’ schools were bombed or burned to limit their education. In other contexts, such as Cameroon, Colombia, South Sudan, and Sudan, armed groups, military, or other security forces committed sexual violence against girls and women at, or on the way to or from, school or university. In 2024, an estimate of 119 million school-age girls and adolescent girls are not in school, and more than a quarter of these girls are in conflict- or crisis-affected countries.  
• Women’s voices in media: A 2023 report by CARE found that while media coverage of conflicts increased more than six-fold between 2013 and 2023, only 5 per cent of articles focused on women’s experiences in war, and only 0.04 highlighted women’s contribution as leaders in peace processes. 

Read more at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/peace-and-security/facts-and-figures