No matter where women are, they face threats of violence. Here's what must be done to tackle gender inequality—the root cause of violence against women.

Little is known about types and drivers of violence and interventions to reduce violence among displaced and host populations in urban areas. To this end, the IRC conducted a systematic review to research the current state of knowledge regarding the drivers of violence, the contributing factors of violence or rights violations, and programming to address violence among displaced and host populations in crisis and post-crisis urban areas.

In Yemen after nearly a half-decade of war, 80 percent of the population is in need of aid. But it’s women and girls who have been hit hardest by the conflict.

With funding from the EU, the IRC helps young Syrian girls in Lebanon counter gender-based violence and prejudice. Meet Sabah, the girl who freed herself from a forced marriage at the age of 13.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a pandemic which violates human rights across communities around the world. Rohingya women and girls who fled to Bangladesh following severe rights violations enacted upon them by the Myanmar military in 2017 continue to live with the threat of violence in Cox’s Bazar. Data from the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) programmes demonstrates that the risks they face are likely to be compounded by the spread of COVID-19 and the steps taken to mitigate against it.

Ahead of a Senate hearing on appropriations for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, the IRC submitted testimony to urge Congress to increase funding for programs that provide overseas and emergency refugee assistance, basic education, malnutrition relief, services for vulnerable children, and programs to counter gender-based violence. The IRC also asked Congress to work to improve the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of humanitarian financing and to allocate 20,000 additional Special Immigrant Visas for U.S.-affiliated Afghans in FY22.

Earlier this year, Mary and Jeff Coursey contributed $14,000 raised to the IRC in Salt Lake City in honor of their daughter's, Maura, memory and to inspire others to take action in their community. With these funds, we have established the Maura Coursey Memorial Fund in support of survivors of domestic and gender-based violence in Utah.

Women’s rights and women-led organizations (WROs/WLOs) are a critical driving force in providing effective gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response services to women and girls impacted by conflict and displacement. Although rhetorical recognition of WROs/WLOs has grown at policy levels, funding to WROs/WLOs remains incredibly low. Following on from “Why Not Local?”, this report provides analysis from across three contexts: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Ukraine. It reveals the pervasive systemic barriers preventing WROs/WLOs to access humanitarian funding.

Creating Opportunities through Mentoring, Parental Involvement and Safe Spaces (COMPASS) was implemented with refugees living in camps on the Sudan/Ethiopia border, conflict-affected communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and displaced populations in north-west Pakistan.

Gender Based Violence is a global epidemic. The IRC estimates that 14 million refugees and displaced women and girls were subjected to sexual violence in 2019. However less than 0.2% of all global humanitarian funding between 2016-2018 was allocated to GBV prevention and response, and women and girls are often invisible in country's action plans for the Sustainable Development Goals. This report highlights some of the links between GBV and key SDGs to show where GBV prevention and response needs to be integrated across sectors to address the double disadvantage faced by women and girls in crisis.