Journal & Analysis
The Global Crisis That Refuses to Decline: Violence Against Women in 2025
840 million women. Nearly one in three on this planet. That is the current scale of intimate partner and sexual violence against women — a figure that has barely shifted since the turn of the century. This is not a problem without solutions. It is a problem without sufficient funding, enforcement, or political courage.
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Nicole Kidman's IVAWA Testimony: A Hollywood Voice That Moved Congress
In 2012, Nicole Kidman testified before a Senate subcommittee in support of the International Violence Against Women Act — bringing unprecedented attention to legislation that Women Thrive Worldwide had championed for years. Here's what she said, and why it still matters.
Teach a Woman to Fish: Overcoming Poverty Around the Globe
Women produce 60–80% of food in developing countries yet own less than 20% of the land. When you invest in a woman's economic independence, the returns ripple through communities for generations. The case for women-centred development has never been stronger.
Women and World Hunger: The Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight
Women grow most of the world's food. Yet they represent the majority of the world's hungry. This is not an irony — it is the direct result of systematic land rights denial, resource inequality, and climate vulnerability concentrated in female-headed households.
Two Decades of Women Thrive: The Battles Won, the Work Remaining
From the early campaigns for IVAWA passage, to coalitions with the Gates Foundation, to congressional testimony, to grassroots advocacy in 32 countries — a look at what global women's advocacy has achieved, and what remains unfinished.
Our Global Partners: Organizations on the Frontlines
Women Thrive's global impact is built on partnerships with hundreds of local NGOs, advocacy groups, and frontline organizations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Meet the organizations doing the work.
The Workplace Reality
The Gender Pay Gap in 2025
Women earn 85¢ for every dollar men make — and the gap widened in 2025. Black women earn 66¢, Native women 57¢. What's driving it, who's most affected, and what the law says.
Read the analysisWomen in Leadership: The Broken Rung
For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 93 women make the cut — just 60 Black women. The glass ceiling is real, but the broken rung is where careers actually end.
Read the analysisWomen's Rights in the Workplace
Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, FMLA, PUMP Act — your legal protections explained. What discrimination looks like, how to document it, and what to do when your employer crosses the line.
Know your rightsWhat We Cover
Violence Against Women
1 in 3 women globally has experienced physical or sexual violence. The VAWA, IVAWA, domestic abuse legislation, and the frontline organisations fighting back.
Read the analysisWomen & World Hunger
Women grow 60–80% of the world's food yet bear the greatest burden of hunger. How land rights, climate change, and policy failure combine against women farmers.
Read the analysisFood Security
Food insecurity falls hardest on women. From Sub-Saharan Africa to rural America, the gender gap in food access is driven by economic exclusion and conflict.
Read the analysisWomen & Poverty
Microfinance, entrepreneurship, and land rights are proven levers for lifting women out of poverty — and with them, their communities. The global evidence base is clear.
Read the analysisIVAWA & US Policy
The International Violence Against Women Act would embed gender-based violence prevention in US foreign policy. Where the legislation stands, who is fighting for it, and why it matters.
Read the analysisOrganizations & Resources
A curated directory of the world's leading women's advocacy organisations, hotlines, NGOs, and support networks — organised by issue and region.
Browse the directoryFrequently Asked
According to the most comprehensive report to date — released by WHO and UN Women in November 2025 — an estimated 840 million women, nearly 1 in 3 globally, have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. In the last 12 months alone, 316 million women were subjected to violence by an intimate partner. Progress has been deeply inadequate, with only a 0.2% annual decline recorded over the last two decades.
IVAWA is proposed US legislation that would embed the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls as a core component of US foreign policy. It would require the State Department to develop a comprehensive multi-year strategy for addressing gender-based violence in US-funded international programs. Women Thrive Worldwide was one of the foremost advocacy organizations championing the legislation — and figures like Nicole Kidman testified before Congress in its support.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) at the US Department of Justice maintains a comprehensive directory of grant-funded programs. Our resources directory lists over 50 organizations providing direct support globally.
Femicide is the intentional killing of women or girls because of their gender. A 2025 joint report by UNODC and UN Women found that 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members in 2024 — an average of 137 every single day, or one every ten minutes. This figure has shown no meaningful decline despite decades of global attention and policy commitments. In contrast, only 11% of male homicides are perpetrated by intimate partners or family members, underscoring the gendered nature of lethal domestic violence.
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Dr. Victoria Hargrove is an advocate, writer, and policy researcher with over 20 years of experience covering violence against women, gender-based violence, and international development. She founded Women Thrive as an independent journal and resource hub, building on the legacy of Women Thrive Worldwide's advocacy work. Her writing has appeared in international policy journals and she has contributed research to programs funded by the US State Department, the Gates Foundation, and UN Women.