On International Women's Day 2025, the development cooperation organisation Misereor and the Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbund e.V. (KDFB) are sounding the alarm: violence against women is increasing worldwide - a fatal step backwards for hard-won women's rights. Anti-feminist movements that systematically call these achievements into question are gaining strength. "Every woman has the right to live in safety and dignity. Violence against women and attacks on women's rights not only jeopardise equality, but also social peace within societies," emphasise Dorothee Klüppel, Head of the Africa/Middle East Department at Misereor, and Anja Karliczek, President of the KDFB.

Despite significant progress in recent decades, women's rights are increasingly under pressure. Around the world, women and girls are exposed to persistent violence and discrimination - from domestic and sexualised violence, forced marriages and educational exclusion to digital violence, human trafficking and the use of sexualised violence against women as a weapon of war. "Women and girls bear the brunt of the consequences of armed conflicts worldwide, as we are currently seeing to an alarming extent in Sudan, Congo, Syria and Ukraine. As a result, entire societies are permanently wounded and the successes of development projects are at risk of being cancelled out," says Klüppel.

In Germany, 180,715 female victims of domestic violence were registered in 2023 according to the federal report "Gender-specific offences against women in 2023" - an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous year. Particularly alarming are the 938 attempted or completed homicides against girls and women, including 360 femicides. "Where women's rights are disregarded, there is no stable society," emphasises Karliczek. Anti-feminist movements reinforce patriarchal structures and promote a climate in which violence against women is trivialised and women's rights are systematically undermined. In social media, misogynistic content is used specifically to intimidate women and oust them from public debates.

Combating violence against women and protecting women's rights requires consistent action through clear legal regulations, comprehensive protective measures and a dedicated commitment to social change.

Despite the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, implementation in Germany remains inadequate. "Prevention, protection and prosecution must not remain empty promises," said Karliczek. MISEREOR and KDFB see the recently passed Violence Assistance Act as an important step in the fight against violence against women and girls. They emphasise: "Every woman has a right to a life without violence - and it is the responsibility of all of us to defend this."

Event notice:

To mark International Women's Day, Misereor and KDFB invite you to an online panel discussion on 13 March 2025 from 18:00 to 19:30:

"Fatal backlash - violence against women worldwide"

The panel will discuss the causes of the global attack on women's rights, the role of social media in the spread of hatred and violence and possible solutions.

Speakers:

• Lisi Maier (Director of the Federal Foundation for Gender Equality),
• Dr Sunitha Krishnan (Director of the women's rights organisation "Prajwala", India)
• Anja Karliczek (Member of the German Bundestag, President of the Catholic German Women's Association (KDFB))
• Dorothee Klüppel (Head of Africa and Middle East Department, Misereor)

Editorial offices are cordially invited. To the registration