Women and children in armed conflict: UN data and UK aid

Rising incidence of armed conflict globally

Conflict monitors continue to record a high level of armed conflict globally. For 2024, the Peace Research Institute in Oslo recorded 61 armed conflicts across 35 countries.

While many conflicts are between states, in many situations non-state armed groups are the primary actors. In 2025, International Committee of the Red Cross recorded more than 383 armed groups of humanitarian concern globally, with 204 million people living in areas contested or controlled by such groups. Most of the armed groups are in Africa and the Middle East.

Armed conflict is a significant driver of population displacement, disruptor of basic services like education and healthcare, raises food insecurity, weakens economies and undermines state capacity in what are often already-fragile situations. The World Bank estimates, by 2030, that most people living in poverty globally will live in fragile (often conflict-affected) states.

Many civilian groups face increased risk of harm during wars. This briefing provides an introduction on the impact of armed conflict on women and children, UK Government policy, and further reading and resources.

The briefing was updated for a debate in Westminster Hall on 4 February 2026. The debate is entitled “Children and armed conflict”. It will be led by Sarah Smith MP.

UN reports 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 2024 the Children’s Fund, Unicef, had 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 2024. A summary of their findings is below.

UN reports on armed conflict, children and civilians

In his latest report on civilians and armed conflict, the UN Secretary-General reported that in 2024 the UN had recorded more than 36,000 civilian deaths in the 14 conflict assessed by the UN (the analysis estimated a total of 120 armed conflicts, which are not named in the report).

This finding followed his report for 2023, which reported an earlier rise in civilian deaths and a higher proportion of women and children among those killed:

[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 2024 there was a sharp rise in the number of violations, with both non-state and state armed groups responsible:

In 2024, violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels, with a staggering 25 per cent surge in the number of grave violations in comparison with 2023. Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises. […]

The United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations, of which 36,221 were committed in 2024 and 5,149 were committed earlier but verified in 2024. Violations affected 22,495 children in 2024 (14,383 boys, 7,320 girls, 792 sex unknown). […]

While non-State armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of grave violations, government forces were the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access.

UN reports also state that in 2024:

• 676 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of at least one-armed conflict. This was the highest record since the 1990s.
• Around 40% of the 132 million people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict and violence worldwide are children (2024 data).
• The UN verified a rise in conflict-related sexual violence, of 4,600 incidents in 2024, a rise of a quarter since 2023. Women and girls made up 92% of those targeted.
• The maternal mortality ratio is higher in conflict-affected areas (504 deaths per 100,000 live births) compared to fragile settings (368)and non-conflict nor fragile settings (99).
• 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 (2023 data).
• The average incidence of child marriage in conflict-affected countries was 14.4 percentage points higher than in non-conflict settings (2023 data).

Unicef also estimates that in 2024 460 million children lived in areas affected by conflict or had 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 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 2024 there is an “urgency of the need for dedicated funding for women-led organisations” in conflict and peace-building situations. He argued that global cuts to aid budgets from 2025 will likely “will have a real cost on the lives of women and girls”. His report cited cuts to services targeting women and girls in Yemen, Sudan, Ukraine, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mali.

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 remains unmet. Bilateral aid is provided for specific countries or programmes and differs from multilateral aid to international bodies. On average, 0.4% of global bilateral aid was spent on this goal, or US$186 million in 2022-23.

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 2025

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.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) guidance on documenting CRSV says that longstanding and widespread discrimination makes women and girls especially vulnerable. It also notes that CRSV occurs within a context of a “global normalization of violence against women and girls” that includes intimate partner violence, forced early marriage, female genital mutilation, honour killings and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

In August 2025, the UN Secretary General published his most recent report on CRSV. It said that in 2024 both state and non-state actors used sexual violence “as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression”:

Civilians were targeted with rape, gang rape and abductions by both State and non-State actors amid a rising number of armed conflicts. […]

In an increasing number of contexts, non-State armed groups […] used sexual violence as a tactic to gain and consolidate control over territory and lucrative natural resources. In addition, women and girls perceived to be associated with rival armed forces were targeted with rape and other forms of sexual violence […]

The proliferation and widespread availability of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition directly fuelled these violations in almost all settings covered in the present report […]

The 2025 report describes incidences of CRSV verified by the UN in the following 16 situations: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. It is not exhaustive for all situations or listed actors of UN concern.

UK Government strategies UN Security Council resolution on Women, Peace and Security

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 are also encouraged to adopt national action plans on women, peace, and security.

UK’s fifth national action plan

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.

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

2025 progress update on national action plan

The government provides an update to parliament every two years on the national action plan, with the most recent published in June 2025. The government set out some of the actions it had taken in areas of concern:

• Afghanistan: Despite growing Taliban restrictions on women’s participation in public life, the UK government has been supporting the payment of expenses incurred due to the Taliban directive for women to be accompanied by a male guardian. The UK has also funded some female medics.
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): The UK has supported TRIAL International with £250,000 to strengthen access to justice to survivors of It will also support the DRC’s own national action plan.
• Ethiopia: the government has supported CARE International to support trauma healing and women’s participation in peace processes
• Syria: UK funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2024 supported improved access to sexual and reproductive health services, safe spaces, and a gender-based violence (GBV) response service.
• Ukraine: UK funding to UNFPA has supported the Ukrainian Government in strengthening the security protection of women and girls from The UK has provided £11 million to support projects aimed at building the domestic capacity of war crimes investigations.
• Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: in 2024 at the UN Security Council the UK Government “reiterated calls for reports ofCRSV against Israelis and Palestinians to be investigated in a survivor-centred manner” and raised “strong concerns” around the treatment of detainees with the Government of Israel.
• Sudan: UK efforts include funding for the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme. This provides sexual and reproductive services to women, girls, persons with disability and men.

Marking the 25th anniversary of the 2000 Security Council resolution, in November 2025 Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that the government would “bring new momentum to the commitments captured” in the resolution and “put it at the heart of UK foreign policy”.

UK diplomatic statements and initiatives

In June 2025 the UK told a meeting of the UN Security Council on children and armed conflict that it remains “deeply concerned about the worsening situation for children in conflicts”. It set out three actions:

• For all parties listed in the UN Secretary General’s report on CRSV (see above) to engage with the UN to develop and implement action plans
• That the UK would “rally” global action through the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (see below)
• Calling on Israel, Hamas and Russia to take steps to address the impact of armed conflict on children.

In April 2024 the UK had told the annual UN Security Council meeting on CSRV that another priority had been limiting the proliferation of small arms and other conventional weapons, which are estimated to be involved in 70% to 90% of all CRSV incidents.

In December 2025 Foreign Secretary launched a new global coalition to prevent violence against women and girls, the “All in” coalition. The coalition intends to share evidence and best practice and ensure that violence against women and girls forms part of global policies on peace and security. The UK’s special envoy for women and girls, Baroness Harriet Harman, will sit on the coalition’s panel.

The UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative

The Commons Library research briefing, Conflict-related sexual violence and the UK’s approach, August 2025, 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 Initiative (PSVI) strategy, the UK Government deploys experts to support local governments, the UN and civil society groups address CRSV. The Labour Government says it is “fully implementing” the 2022 strategy.

In 2025/26 the PSVI has a budget of £3.9 million. Funding for future years has not been announced.

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 had 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.

The role of all FCDO envoys, including that for the PSVI, is under review. As of January 2026, the review outcomes have not been published.

Other related UK aid 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.

Section 2 of the Commons Library briefing on UK aid for women and girls sets out government aid strategies on empowering women and girls.

Section 3 of the same briefing paper sets out UK aid spending on gender equality and how it compares to other major donors. The UK is currently in the process of reducing its aid budget to 0.3% of gross national income (GNI). The Library briefing, UK aid: Reducing spending to 0.3% of GNI by 2027/28, has information on the wider changes, including equality assessments.

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 27 March 2026.

Speaking during proceedings in the Lords, the then 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.

Related Library briefings

• UK aid and women and girls, April 2025
• Returning forcibly deported children to Ukraine, May 2025
• Conflict-related sexual violence and the UK’s approach, August 2025

Recent Parliamentary proceedings

• HC Deb, Armed conflict: Children, 4 February 2026, cc204-220WH
• International Development Committee, Oral evidence: Women, peace and security, HC 782, 16 December 2025
• HL Deb, Ukraine: Forcible removal of children, 24 November 2025, cc1102-5
• HC Deb, Ukraine: Forcible removal of Children, 24 November 2025, cc853-63
• HC Deb, Ukraine: Forcibly deported children, 21 May 2025, cc335-79WH
• HC Deb, Impact of conflict on women and girls, 9 January 2025, cc403-46WH
• HL Deb, Children: Impact of international conflict, 12 September 2024, cc173-188WH

Further reading and resources

• Save the Children, Stop the war on children: Security for whom?, November 2025
• UN Women, At risk and underfunded: How funding cuts are threatening efforts to end violence against women and girls, October 2025
• UN Women, Facts and figures: Women, peace, and security, October 2025
• Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Women in multilateral peace operations in 2025: What is the state of play?, October 2025
• Security Council report (not affiliated with the UN), Children and armed Conflict: Progression, regression or maintenance of the agenda? (PDF), June 2025
• UN, Report of the UN Special representative for children and armed conflict to the general assembly, July 2025
• Amnesty International, Older persons in armed conflict and peacebuilding, March 2025
• Human Rights Watch, Violations soar against children in armed conflict, June 2025
• Unicef, Children under attack, December 2024
• UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of armed conflict, July 2021
• Human Rights Watch, Older people at heightened risk in conflict, February 2022
• International Committee of the Red Cross, Protected persons: Children and Protected persons: Women
• Watch List on Children and Armed Conflict, Countries. Summaries of issues and reports affecting children in armed conflict.

Footnotes