Impact of conflict on women and girls

Alice MacDonald MP will lead a debate in Westminster Hall from 1.30pm to 4.30pm on 9 January 2025 on the impact of conflict on women and girls. The topic for debate was chosen by the Backbench Business Committee.

This Commons Library debate pack provides information on the impact of conflict on women and girls, UK Government policy, and further reading, resources, and parliamentary material.

Data on the impact of armed conflict

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, publishes annual reports on women, peace, and security, children and armed conflict, the protection of armed civilians in conflict, and on conflict-related sexual violence. UN Women also publish a gender snapshot on progress towards the sustainable development goals, which are intended to be met by 2030.

In December 2024, the UN Children’s Fund, Unicef, assessed that 2024 was likely to be “one of the worst years in history for children in conflict”.

The most recent reports issued by the Secretary General cover 2023. A summary of their findings is below.

UN reports on women and girls, children and armed conflict, and peace and security and armed conflict

The UN Secretary-General reported that in 2023 that the UN:

recorded at least 33,443 civilian deaths in armed conflicts […], a 72 per cent increase as compared with 2022. The proportion of women and children killed doubled and tripled, respectively, as compared with 2022. In 2023, 4 out of every 10 civilians killed in conflicts were women, and 3 out of 10 were children.

The UN monitors six “grave violations” against children. These include recruitment or use of children as soldiers and denial of humanitarian access for children. The UN Secretary-General said that in 2023:

children bore the brunt of multiplying and escalating crises that were marked by a complete disregard for child rights, notably the inherent right to life […]

The United Nations verified 32,990 grave violations, of which 30,705 were committed in 2023 and 2,285 were committed earlier but verified in 2023. Violations affected 22,557 children (15,847 boys, 6,252 girls, 458 sex unknown) in 25 situations and one regional monitoring arrangement covering the Lake Chad basin region.

The UN reports also state that in 2023:

• 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of at least one-armed conflict. This was a 41% increase from 2015.
• Around half of the 117.5 million people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict and violence worldwide were women and girls.
• The UN verified a rise in conflict-related sexual violence, of 3,688 incidents in 2023, a 50% rise since 2022. Women and girls made up 95% of victims.
• 61% of preventable maternal mortality occurred in 35 crisis-affected countries (around 500 deaths per day).
• While 25% of women and girls globally experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, in conflict-affected settings 50% of women and girls faced moderate or severe food insecurity.
• The average incidence of child marriage in conflict-affected countries was 14.4 percentage points higher than in non-conflict settings.

Unicef also estimates that 460 million children currently live in areas affected by conflict or have been displaced by them. The World Health Organization also estimates that 22% of those who have experienced war or other conflict in the last ten years will have depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

In a separate report, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (not a UN body) reported that in 2022 and 2023 it had identified 6,000 reported attacks on students, educators, and educational institutions, up 20% from the previous two years. It said that more than 10,000 students and educators were killed, injured, or otherwise harmed, up 10% from 2020 and 2021.

Global funding for women and girls on peace and security

The UN Secretary General reports that in 2023 there was a global “lack of adequate funding […] to realising commitments on women and peace and security”. These included funding on women’s access to decision-making, upholding the rights of women during conflict, and supporting women’s human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

The Secretary General also said that a UN recommendation for 1% of bilateral aid to be allocated to women’s organisations in conflict-affected countries remained unmet. On average, 0.3% of bilateral aid was spent on this goal, or US$142 million in 2021/22.

Analysis by the UN Trade and Development organisation estimates that the proportion of global aid on conflict, peace and security that had gender equality as a principal or significant objective has risen from 25% in 2011/12 to 48% in 2021/22 and that on humanitarian aid from 16% to 19%.

UN conflict-related sexual violence report for 2023

Conflict-related sexual violence (CSRV) is defined by the UN as “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity” that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict.

The term also encompasses trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual violence or exploitation, when committed in situations of conflict.

In April 2024, the UN Secretary General published his most recent report on CRSV, covering 2023. It said that:

In 2023, the outbreak and escalation of conflict exposed civilians to heightened levels of conflict-related sexual violence, fuelled by arms proliferation and increased militarization. Weapon bearers from both State and non-State armed groups targeted civilians with rape, gang rape and abductions, amid record levels of internal and cross-border displacement. Sexual violence curtailed women’s livelihoods and girls’ access to education, while generating profits for armed and violent extremist groups, including through conflict-driven trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Women and girls were disproportionately affected by sexual violence […]

The UN report described the incidence of sexual violence in:

• Fifteen conflict-related settings: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.
• Three post-conflict settings: Western Balkans, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
• Three situations of concern: Ethiopia, Haiti, and Nigeria.

UK Government strategies Women and girls in conflict

Under UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), UN member states are urged to ensure that women participate in decision-making on peace, security and conflict, and to incorporate a gender perspective into the prevention of conflict and peace processes, protection during conflict, and in post-conflict relief and recovery. States were also encouraged to adopt national action plans on women, peace, and security.

In 2023 the UK Government launched its fifth national action plan on women, peace and security. It will run until 2027. It has five strategic objectives:

1. Increasing women’s involvement in decision-making
2. Addressing gender-based violence, including CSRV
3. Supporting women and girls in humanitarian and crisis response
4. Ensuring the accountability for security actors and institutions
5. Acting against transnational threats, including terrorism, climate insecurity and cybersecurity, targeting women and girls.

It identified 12 focus countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen.

The plan noted continuing challenges to the women, peace and security agenda including global underfunding for related programming, attempts to roll back sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services in some states and conflicts, and violations of human rights.

The government will provide an update to parliament every two years, with this expected in 2025. In May 2024 the government said that 75% of the 117 commitments in the plan were in progress. It did not provide a breakdown.

Civil society groups Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) and SaferWorld have published reports on the government’s action plan.

Conflict-related sexual violence

The Commons Library research briefing, Conflict-relates sexual violence and the UK’s approach, April 2023, provides background on conflict-related sexual violence, the UK Government’s approach, aid spending and international action in this area.

Under its 2022 Preventing Sexual Violence in Initiative (PSVI) strategy, which runs until 2025, the UK Government deploys experts to support local governments, the UN and civil society groups address CRSV.

In 2024 PSVI teams were deployed in Ethiopia, Iraq, Ukraine, Israel, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to assist in delivering support services, commissioning research and capacity training.

In November 2024, the Labour Government appointed Lord Collins, Minister for Africa, as the UK’s Special Representative on PSVI, succeeding Conservative Minister Lord Ahmad, who held the post from 2017. Lord Collins said the government would be:

working to prevent and respond to CRSV, including through the provision of medical, psychosocial, and legal support to thousands of survivors.

In April 2024 the UK Ambassador to the UN, Dame Barbara Woodward, had told the annual UN Security Council meeting on CSRV that the UK “remain committed to tackling CRSV” and had three priorities for action:

• Limiting the proliferation of small arms and other conventional weapons, which are estimated to be involved in 70% to 90% of all CRSV incidents.
• Addressing incidents in Sudan (where the UK called for a ceasefire so survivors can access support), Ukraine (where the UK is supporting investigations) and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (where the UK has called for ceasefire and the immediate release of hostages and condemns all allegations and reports of CRSV).
• Strengthening the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in conflict, which the UK launched in 2022. It has 26 members.

Other related UK funding and strategies

The Department for International Development (DFID), which was merged with the FCDO in 2020, had an aim to spend 50% of its aid in fragile and conflict-affected states. The target was not renewed in the government’s 2022 international development strategy or 2023 white paper on international development, though both said UK support would be targeted to such states and 50% of UK bilateral aid would be focused on least developed countries.

In 2024, the government said 64% of country-specific bilateral aid (£1.4 billion) was scored as for fragile and conflict-affected states. It said this was an underestimate as it does not include the UK’s core contributions to international organisations or other centrally-managed programmes.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports on aid spending by the 32 members of the Development Assistance Committee (this includes the major aid donors, but not China). It said:

• The volume of UK aid with gender equality as a principal or significant objective fell from 66% in 2019-20 to 57% in 2020-21, averaging around US$2.1 billion per year. It ranked 11th in terms of share of bilateral aid with gender equality objectives.
• From 2011 to 2022, the UK ranked 10th for the total value of aid for the effectiveness, influence, and sustainability of women’s rights organisations.
• From 2020 to 2021, the UK ranked 11th for the total value of aid (PDF) that had the principal objective of ending violence against women and girls.

The Conservative Government launched a women and girls’ strategy for international development in 2023, with priorities being “education, empowering women and girls and championing their health and rights, and ending violence”. The Labour Government says empowering women and girls is one of its priorities for UK aid.

The government also funds organisations including Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor, announcing £80 million in 2023 for the next four-year funding period.

From January 2022 to January 2024, the government had also sanctioned 13 perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence.

Private Members’ bill on women, peace, and security

In 2024 Baroness Hodgson introduced the Women, Peace and Security Bill [HL] in the House of Lords. The bill would introduce a duty on the government “to have regard to the national action plan on women, peace and security” when making decisions on foreign policy, defence or related matters.

The bill has passed all its stages in the Lords and has been introduced in the Commons by the Chair of the International Development Committee, Sarah Champion. Its second reading is scheduled for 7 March 2025.

Speaking during proceedings in the Lords, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Minister Lord Collins said he would work with the Baroness and that the government is “committed to ensuring that the key principles in the bill are followed through”. However, he said the government could not support the bill as it “includes provisions which we could not support, including potential overlap with existing legislation and conventions, and those that would constrain foreign policy”.

The Lords Library briefing on the Women, Peace and Security Bill, November 2024, provides more background on the bill.