In the quiet outskirts of Hebron, a young woman named Mariam found her life hanging by a thread, not because of physical artillery, but because of a digital weapon. A trusted acquaintance had secretly photographed her without her veil, threatening to broadcast the images across social media unless she paid a ransom. Thousands of miles away in the Jiwaka province of Papua New Guinea, a woman named Lilly lived in a different kind of terror. Every time she returned from the market, she faced the unpredictable rage of an intoxicated husband who not only inflicted physical pain but also maintained a strict monopoly over the household’s only mobile phone. This digital gatekeeping left Lilly isolated, unable to reach out for help or access the online resources that might offer her a path to safety. Meanwhile, in the war-torn streets of Kyiv, Iryna, a survivor of sexual violence living with HIV, found herself adrift in the chaos of a full-scale invasion. Displaced and stripped of her communication tools, she was suddenly severed from the essential medical and psychological support systems that kept her alive.
These stories, though separated by vast geographical and cultural divides, share a chilling commonality: the safety and dignity of women are under constant siege in both the physical and virtual worlds. As technology evolves, the boundaries between traditional domestic abuse and digital harassment have blurred, creating a complex landscape where violence follows women from their homes into the digital sphere. However, in the face of these escalating threats, a powerful movement of multilateral cooperation is rising. By combining the strengths of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), a new model of resilience is being forged—one that empowers local grassroots organizations to protect women and girls long after the headlines of a crisis have faded.
The global statistics remain staggering. Current data suggests that one in three women will experience gender-based violence during her lifetime. These numbers do not exist in a vacuum; they spike dramatically during times of conflict, economic instability, and environmental disaster. In the modern era, the risk is further compounded by the "new frontier" of abuse. Technology-facilitated violence—ranging from deepfakes and non-consensual image sharing to sophisticated GPS stalking—has become a tool for silencing women and pushing them out of public life. When a woman is harassed online, the psychological impact is often as devastating as physical violence, stripping her of her sense of security in the very places she should feel most free: her school, her workplace, and her home.
To combat this, the international community is learning that the most effective responders are not distant bureaucracies, but the local women’s rights organizations that understand the nuances of their own communities. These organizations are the first to arrive and the last to leave. They build the safe houses, provide the psychosocial counseling, and navigate the legal labyrinths to secure justice for survivors. Recognizing this, the partnership between the UN Trust Fund and the WPHF has become a cornerstone of a "feminist funding" strategy. While the UN Trust Fund focuses on long-term institutional growth and systemic change, the WPHF provides the agility and flexible funding required to react to sudden emergencies. Together, they ensure that the "continuum of care" remains unbroken, even when a nation falls into the grip of war.
Ukraine serves as a primary example of how long-term investment creates a foundation for emergency resilience. Between 2011 and 2014, the Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health (UFPH) received critical support to enhance protection for women living with HIV and those experiencing homelessness. This early funding allowed the UFPH to train a generation of social workers, healthcare providers, and police officers in survivor-centered approaches. When the full-scale war erupted in early 2022, this existing infrastructure proved to be a lifeline. Within just two months of the invasion, the UFPH—bolstered by a rapid-response partnership with the WPHF and UN Women—launched the "Safe Women Hub."
The Safe Women Hub is a digital sanctuary, an online platform designed specifically for women like Iryna who have been displaced by conflict. It offers anonymous counseling, legal referrals, and mental health support to survivors of human trafficking and sexual violence. For Iryna, the Hub was more than just a website; it was the mechanism through which she found temporary shelter and the specialized medical care she required during the most volatile months of the war. This transition from a traditional health program to a high-tech emergency response demonstrates how institutional strength, built over a decade, can be pivoted in an instant to meet the demands of a modern crisis.
In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the concept of resilience takes on a different form. Here, the Rural Women’s Development Society (RWDS) has spent over four decades building a network of 58 women’s clubs. These clubs are more than just meeting rooms; they are trusted community hubs where women can escape isolation and access services that are otherwise unavailable in remote or restricted areas. For Mariam, the victim of digital blackmail in Hebron, her local women’s club was the only place she felt safe enough to disclose the threat. RWDS did not just offer emotional support; they actively worked to have the non-consensual images removed from the internet and provided her with a specialized therapist to process the trauma of the violation.
The RWDS approach is particularly innovative because it addresses the root causes of violence by engaging the entire community. With the combined support of the UN Trust Fund and the WPHF, the organization has expanded its reach to include youth and community leaders, including men and religious figures. By working closely with the local Cybercrime Unit, RWDS is reframing digital safety not as a niche "women’s issue," but as a fundamental component of family and community well-being. As Rulla Sarras, the Director of Funding and Development at RWDS, notes, the primary need for women in these contexts is the feeling of security—physical, mental, and emotional. When women feel secure, they are better equipped to care for their families and sustain the social fabric of their communities during times of intense political and military conflict.
The struggle for safety is equally urgent in Papua New Guinea, a nation where the rates of gender-based violence are among the highest in the world. In the Jiwaka Province, the organization Voice for Change (VfC) has been working to dismantle the culture of impunity that surrounds domestic abuse. Early investment from the UN Trust Fund allowed VfC to establish provincial strategies and local bylaws that made public spaces, like markets, safer for women vendors like Lilly. This work also saw the birth of the Women Human Rights Defenders network, a group of local advocates who continue to push for legislative change and social reform.
Today, with the flexible support of the WPHF, VfC is tackling the emerging threat of digital abuse while strengthening its "Family Safety Committees." These committees are a unique bridge between grassroots activism and formal justice. They bring together police officers, peace mediators, and justice officials to ensure that when a woman reports violence—whether it happens on a street corner or through a smartphone screen—there is a clear, safe, and effective pathway for her to find help. By integrating digital safety into their community prevention plans, VfC is ensuring that as technology reaches more remote areas, it becomes a tool for empowerment rather than another instrument of control for abusers.
Ultimately, the work being done in Ukraine, Palestine, and Papua New Guinea highlights a critical truth: ending violence against women requires more than just reactive measures; it requires a sustained, survivor-centered ecosystem. In an era defined by a global funding crisis and increasing volatility, the collaboration between these multilateral funds and UN Women provides a blueprint for the future. By moving beyond short-term "project-based" thinking and instead investing in the long-term resilience of local women’s organizations, the international community can ensure that women like Mariam, Lilly, and Iryna are never left to face their battles alone. The goal is not merely to respond to the next crisis, but to build a world where the safety and dignity of every woman are non-negotiable, both in the physical world and in every corner of the digital landscape.
