War is growing deadlier for women and girls, who accounted for one in four of the more than 37,000 civilians killed in armed conflict last year - double their share in 2021 - according to major UN report released Monday.
At least 25 women and girls are killed every day in conflict settings, the UN Secretary-General's annual report on Women, Peace and Security finds - and as civilian deaths mount, sexual violence is surging and women continue to be largely shut out of peace talks.
Some 750 million women and girls now live within 50 kilometres of an active conflict, 40 million more than in 2024 and more than at any time since 1990.
"War is getting deadlier for women and girls, and the world is allowing it to happen," UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda briefed journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, presenting the report.
"For them, war is not something they can scroll past. War is outside their door."
Beyond bombs
For women and girls caught up in war, the threat goes far beyond the battlefield.
In 2025, the UN verified 9,788 cases of conflict related sexual violence, more than twice as many as the year before, and almost four times as many as in 2022.
In Haiti, reported cases of sexual violence rose by 163 per cent.
A woman giving birth in a conflict-affected country is five times more likely to die from maternal causes than one in a stable country. Ms. Gumbonzvanda said.
In Gaza, the destruction of hospitals and maternity facilities and the collapse of access to essential supplies have contributed to a 41 per cent decrease in live births and a 300 per cent increase in miscarriages.
War also drives women deeper into poverty. Around 170 million women and girls live in both conflict zones and extreme poverty, surviving on less than $3 a day, while in conflict-affected countries they spend five times as many hours on unpaid care work as men and boys.
The increasing use of drones and long-range weapons in populated areas - including attacks on schools, markets and hospitals - raises further safety concerns, the report warns.
Shut out of peace
Yet women remain largely excluded from efforts to end the fighting. In 2025, they made up just five per cent of negotiators across 57 peace processes, down seven per cent the year before, and not one of 13 ceasefire agreements explicitly prohibited conflict-related sexual violence.
At the same time, global military spending hit a record $2.9 trillion last year, while 40 per cent of women's organisations in crisis-affected settings expect to close temporarily or permanently within the next year due to severe funding shortfalls.
"More women and girls are trapped in wars than at any point in decades. Yet military spending keeps rising and development assistance keeps falling," said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
UN Women is calling for the protection of women and girls, their meaningful participation in peace and security, sustained investment in women-led peacebuilding, and an end to impunity.
"War is a human choice. So is peace," Ms. Gumbonzvanda said.
