Joke Kujenya
JOYCE EYABA, 39, lives in a small rural town in Potiskum, Yobe State, in the northeastern part of Nigeria.
For years, sharing with jknewsmedia.com, she said she has endured repeated physical and emotional abuse from her husband, which often left her with bruises hidden under long sleeves and silent nights spent worrying about the next attack.
Most times, fear and stigma also kept her from speaking out, she confessed.
For this reason, local support services were limited or inaccessible, she also admitted.
She said it wasn’t until when a nearby community health worker finally connected her to a women’s shelter, that she received counselling, medical care, and legal guidance.
Meanwhile, Eyaba’s instance reflects quietly that countless others in her village, especially young girls, continue to suffer in silence, invisible in official statistics.
WHO Paints A Grimmer Picture
Persistent statistical patterns continue to highlight that violence against women remains one of the most entrenched and under-addressed human rights violations worldwide, with measurable progress effectively stalled since 2000.
Recent reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), international health and rights organisations attest that the prevalence of such violence has remained largely static for more than two decades, despite growing evidence of effective prevention strategies and a broad framework of rights-based policies urging government action.
Current global data also indicates that one in three women continues to experience partner or sexual violence during her lifetime.
Shobha Shukla, Coordinator and Host of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights), noted that the annual decline in prevalence has averaged only 0.2% over twenty years, describing the pace as “abysmally and painfully too slow.”
She highlighted that official figures are under-reported due to stigma, fear, and structural barriers to reporting, with emotional violence among the least documented forms.
These statistics reflect a persistent gap between documented incidents and the lived realities of women across diverse regions, Shukia stressed.
On another note, the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasised the scale of the problem, stating that violence against women “is one of humanity’s oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet still one of the least acted upon.”
He warned that societies cannot claim fairness or safety “while half its population lives in fear,” stressing that ending this violence is intrinsically linked to human dignity, equality, and rights, rather than policy alone.
Accompanying the statement, WHO released a report warning of a sharp decline in funding for violence prevention initiatives, even as global crises such as humanitarian emergencies, technological shifts, and growing socio-economic inequality increase risks for millions of women and girls.
The report also noted that only 0.2% of global development aid in 2022 targeted programmes addressing violence against women, with funding falling further in 2025.
Data analysis of development aid trends indicates a persistent under-investment in prevention, despite consistent evidence that effective, community-led interventions can substantially reduce risk.
Moreover, the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the Right to Health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, reiterated that comprehensive, unrestricted investment is critical.
She stressed that maternal health, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and universal health coverage (UHC) must operate as interconnected priorities.
“We do not speak about the right to health as an abstract right, but as a fundamental human right,” she said, highlighting emerging global trends where anti-rights narratives and restrictive policies are eroding access to SRHR.
Dr Mofokeng further noted that healthcare workers and human rights defenders are increasingly silenced, and ideology is replacing evidence-based policy in multiple jurisdictions.
Trends Recorded By Statistics
Statistical trends also reveal that setbacks in women’s rights are not isolated. Alison Drayton, Assistant Secretary General at CARICOM, reported that nearly one in four countries experienced a backlash against women’s rights in 2024.
She identified shrinking solidarity and regressive policies as key drivers, particularly affecting women, girls, and marginalised populations.
The data indicates that these reversals correlate with reduced access to SRHR services, demonstrating the interconnectedness of rights, health, and societal equity.
In his contribution, Dr Haileyesus Getahun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), reinforced that the right to health is a legally binding obligation enshrined in international frameworks, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, ratified by 174 countries.
He outlined three responsibilities for governments: non-interference in citizens’ enjoyment of rights, a duty to prevent harm, and the establishment of administrative systems to ensure universal access to health services.
Ahead of Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December, Dr Getahun emphasised that UHC is a gateway to comprehensive health, with SRHR fully integral to achieving equitable coverage.
What The Data Reveals
Data from climate-affected and marginalised communities reveals the compounding impact of systemic neglect.
Aysha Amin, Founder of Baithak in Pakistan, noted that girls and women in such contexts face disproportionate health risks due to patriarchal norms and under-resourced health systems.
Analysis of disaster-affected regions shows that destroyed healthcare infrastructure forces women to deliver in unsafe makeshift settings, while adolescent girls lack access to basic menstrual hygiene facilities, increasing risks of infection and gender-based violence.
Amin emphasised that these outcomes reflect systemic policy failures where SRHR is not embedded in emergency preparedness or UHC frameworks.
Brazilian health officials equally provided a counterpoint demonstrating data-driven solutions. Dr Ana Luiza Caldas, Vice Minister of Health, outlined Brazil’s progress in expanding UHC through primary healthcare and community-based approaches.
By analysing local health data and engaging directly with communities, Brazilian authorities said they have tailored SRHR services and STI prevention measures to meet real needs, demonstrating how evidence and community consultation can drive measurable improvements.
As submissions flew around, the room fell quiet with each one circling back to the same point with a sense of urgency.
Their submissions carried a clear message: governments can no longer rely on guesswork or fragmented responses. They argued that any real progress depends on decisions rooted in data and backed by steady financial commitment.
They also described what it would look like in practice for community-led prevention programmes that have been tested and proven to work, health and legal services designed around the needs of survivors, and data systems strong enough to identify those most at risk before the harm is done.
Also, the experts collectively spoke about laws too, not just on paper, but enforced in ways that genuinely protect and empower women and girls.
As the session drew on, a shared concern surfaced again and again.
They all agreed that without routine monitoring, without targeted interventions guided by evidence, the slow global decline in violence could stall entirely.
“And if that happens, the world risks leaving yet another generation of women and girls exposed to the same dangers their mothers and grandmothers endured,” they warned.
