Core issues in 2026

The role of women in peace-building processes

The involvement of women in peace negotiations is associated with more lasting peace. Agreements signed by female delegates tend to contain more provisions for political reform and have higher implementation rates.

A recurring pattern is the link between female delegates and women’s civil society organisations, which improves both the content and implementation of the agreements. Mediators play a key role, as the design of the process determines whether women’s participation is substantive or merely consultative.

Women in blue helmets enhance local trust, outreach and access to women and girls in contexts where gender segregation limits contact with male personnel. This makes them particularly valuable when it comes to listening to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, gathering information and providing civil protection.

Their presence is also associated with more accessible missions and reduced tensions with the local population. Some studies link a 5 per cent increase in female peacekeepers to a halving of reports of abuses against civilians, but this evidence appears to be cited more as an advocacy statistic than as a widely replicated primary finding.

Women in uniform can also act as role models for women and girls in host countries and support reintegration, mentoring and the legitimisation of women’s presence in the security sector.

Violence against women and domestic violence

Violence against women is a serious public health issue and a fundamental violation of human rights It encompasses any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm to women, including threats and coercion, whether it occurs in public or private life. The most common form of this phenomenon is domestic violence or violence by an intimate partner. The latter occurs in domestic settings between two people who are, or have been, in an intimate relationship and includes not only physical and sexual assaults, but also emotional, psychological and economic abuse, such as financial control, isolation and coercive behaviour. Globally, it is estimated that nearly one in three women (31.6 per cent) have experienced physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of a partner, or sexual violence at the hands of a third party, at some point in their lives. Many violent crimes take place within the home, disproportionately affecting women and girls compared to men. This violence, whose deep-rooted causes lie in gender inequality and stereotypical gender roles, has devastating short- and long-term consequences for the physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health of the victims.

In 2026, figures remain high in several contexts: in India, domestic violence falls only slightly, from 31.2% to 29.3%, and over 45% of women consider it justifiable in some cases for a husband to beat his wife. In Australia, around one in four women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of a partner since the age of 15, and in 2024, a woman was killed by a current or former partner every four days

Table 1 – Overall trends in partner violence