No country in the world has yet achieved full legal equality between women and men, according to a new report by UN Women.
The report, titled Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls, highlights growing concerns about legal systems that continue to restrict women’s freedoms, silence their voices and allow abuse to occur without accountability.
It warns that women and girls are increasingly being failed by institutions designed to protect them, leaving many exposed to injustice, abuse and impunity at a time when resistance to gender equality is intensifying globally.
Sarah Hendriks, Director of Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division at UN Women, said the world is facing democratic backsliding, rising conflicts, economic pressures and shrinking civic spaces, all of which affect women’s rights and access to justice.
She noted that justice systems have the potential to evolve and become more inclusive.
According to her, reforms to family laws since 1970 have enabled more than 600 million women to gain access to economic opportunities.
Despite these gains, the report found that women around the world still face a significant “justice gap,” with discriminatory laws existing in many countries. Increasing conflicts have also contributed to a sharp rise in gender-based violence.
Hendriks said there is an increasingly organised pushback against gender equality, which is causing a regression in women’s rights.
She explained that justice systems often reflect societal pressures and inequalities.
“A justice system that does not serve women and girls cannot call itself just,” she said, stressing that the time has come to turn the promise of equality into reality.
The report identified five major barriers preventing fair outcomes for women and girls, who face greater obstacles in accessing justice than men in nearly 70 per cent of the countries surveyed.
These barriers include discriminatory legal frameworks, restrictive social norms, gaps between laws and their implementation, traditional justice systems operating outside state structures, and the impact of conflict situations.
As a result of these challenges, women globally have only 64 per cent of the legal rights enjoyed by men. In addition, 54 per cent of countries still lack consent-based legal definitions of rape.
The report also highlighted the impact of global conflicts on women’s safety. In 2024, about 676 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometres of deadly conflicts — the highest level recorded since the 1990s.
This has contributed to an 87 per cent increase in reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence.
Hendriks said impunity often prevails in such situations, adding that when justice systems fail women and girls, the consequences extend beyond individuals and affect entire communities.
The report outlined eight key recommendations for governments to implement by 2030, including judicial reforms that are shaped by women and designed to better address their needs.
It also called for increased funding and stronger government commitment to support efforts aimed at ending violence against women and girls.
According to the report, nearly 90 per cent of organisations working to combat violence against women have reported reductions in essential services, while only five per cent believe they can sustain their current operations for more than two years under existing conditions.