March 8, 2026 – Joint Regional Op-Ed for West and Central Africa - UN Women & UNODC

As we mark International Women’s Day, it is clear that across West and Central Africa many women and girls continue to face legal, institutional, and social barriers that limit their access to justice and protection.

Behind every woman or girl denied equitable access to justice are acts of violence that go unpunished, harms that remain unaddressed, and rights that are not guaranteed. This reality cannot be ignored and calls for an urgent collective response.

From the Sahel to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and across north‑east Nigeria, complex crises highlight how fragile women’s rights remain in the face of insecurity and prolonged displacement. These situations expose women to heightened risks of sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking in persons. In sub‑Saharan Africa, nearly half of the identified survivors of trafficking in persons are girls, while women represent about one‑third of detected cases, primarily in situations of sexual exploitation and forced labour (UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2024).

At the same time, the absence of appropriate services, limited institutional capacity, geographic distance, and the high costs associated with legal processes significantly restrict the ability of women and girls to claim their rights and obtain reparation. These constraints undermine their livelihoods, economic empowerment, and the establishment of effective community‑based protection mechanisms.

In our region, the barriers are not only logistical and do not disappear in times of peace. Deeply rooted social norms continue to discourage the reporting of violence in the name of family or community cohesion, limiting the effective exercise of rights. From family status to access to land and inheritance, several legal frameworks restrict women’s ability to assert their rights and fully participate in economic, social, and political life.

Moreover, recent setbacks in gender equality — sometimes fuelled by disinformation and online violence — remind us that progress on human rights can never be taken for granted.

Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the International Conference on Population and Development, the persistent gap between commitments and available financing must be closed to secure sustainable progress. Despite increases in gender‑equality funding, of the USD 30.9 billion pledged to advance women’s economic justice and rights, only USD 27.4 billion has been mobilized (UN Women, Generation Equality Accountability Report, 2024). This shortfall weakens women’s access to equitable justice and to effective protection mechanisms, allowing violence and impunity to persist.

Yet it is precisely in this context that women’s leadership emerges as a decisive lever for transformation toward equitable justice in West and Central Africa. Mediators, human rights defenders, justice professionals, and community leaders are changing practices, opening pathways to decision‑making spaces, and shifting social norms to anchor equality within institutions and communities.

We stand firmly alongside the women leading these changes. With our partners, we are strengthening more accessible institutions, consolidating reparation mechanisms, supporting essential reforms for equitable justice, and addressing harmful practices and discriminatory social norms.

In a region with a predominantly young population, this is not symbolic—it is a strategic choice for stability and sustainable development. When a survivor is protected and heard, when a woman fully exercises her rights, when a young girl can envision her future without internal barriers to accessing careers in justice, security, or leadership, when a trained justice professional acts with expertise, and when men and communities commit to equality — the impact is tangible.

This is why we call for increased mobilization of predictable and innovative resources commensurate with the ambitions of equitable justice, to ensure it becomes an irreversible reality for all women and girls across our region.

Dr. Maxime Houinato
Regional Director, UN Women West and Central Africa

Dr. Sylvie Bertrand
Regional Representative,
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
Regional Office for West and Central Africa