According to the UN, at least 33,443 civilians died in conflicts last year, an increase of 72 percent compared to 2022. Among those affected, the proportion of women rose to around 40 percent – a doubling – and the proportion of children was three out of ten deaths.
"Achievements made over the past decades are disappearing before our eyes," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement.
Sima Bahous, head of the UN's unit for women's empowerment and gender equality, UN Women, says that the trend is part of a "larger war against women".
Women continue to pay the price for men's wars, she says.
Deliberately targeting women's rights is not unique to conflict-affected countries, but is even more deadly in that environment.
In 2023, the UN registered over 170 armed conflicts. Approximately 612 million women and girls lived within five miles of these conflicts.
The number of reported cases of sexual violence against women in the affected areas increased by 50 percent. Only in the Democratic Republic of Congo were over 123,000 cases of sexual violence reported.
"Perpetrators continue to enjoy widespread impunity," the report notes.
At the same time, another figure is falling – that of women's participation when agreements are signed in conflict zones. Only 1.5 percent of last year's peace or security agreements were signed by women, with the exception of several agreements in Colombia.
"Power and decision-making regarding peace and security are largely dominated by men, and progress has been disappointingly small in terms of putting an end to impunity for those who commit atrocities against women and girls," the report authors write.
