The Executive Director of the UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, reaffirms the organisation's commitment to working for the prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.

"We are particularly committed to advancing our work in humanitarian contexts, including through further development of crisis-specific data systems on violence against women and girls, by ensuring survivors’ access to life-saving services and through integrating attention to violence across other sectors," Dr Osotimehin said in his statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women observed each 25th November.  

According to Dr Osotimehin, UNFPA will continue, in all contexts,  to engage men and boys to help change social and cultural norms so that gender equality is upheld, the status of women and girls elevated, and violence rendered socially unacceptable .

The Executive Director added that "UNFPA fully supports UN Women’s call for a goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the post-2015 development agenda.

".... we are working to ensure that this goal includes special attention to the vulnerabilities of adolescent girls, particularly related to gender-based violence, sexual coercion, child marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting and other harmful practices," he pointed out.