Feminist diplomacy – international day for the elimination of violence against women (25 November 2025)

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2025, France reaffirms its commitment to protecting women and girls from all kinds of violence.

In 2025, one in three women in the world said they had been subjected to physical or sexual violence from a partner, a member of their family or someone else during their life (UN Women).

The French diplomatic network is working actively throughout the world to this end. On 23 October 2025, at the end of the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, held in Paris, France and 30 other countries pledged in a political statement to step up their action to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, especially in conflict situations and the digital environment.

In conjunction with UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), France is supporting the implementation of programmes to protect women who are victims of violence and pledges to fight against impunity for conflict-related sexual violence.

With the Support Fund for Feminist Organizations, France is stepping up civil-society grassroots action. The Feminist Opportunities Now project supports 180 voluntary organizations across the world. The Laboratory for Women’s Rights Online, launched by France in 2024, supports concrete projects to combat the scourge of online violence against women and girls.
France is also making the strengthening of the normative framework surrounding women’s rights a diplomatic priority, by supporting the universalization of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs continues to step up its efforts to tackle violence aimed at French women abroad, by increasing its means of action to take in victims at consular sites and with the goal of providing victim-support training to 200 consular staff from 2026. Thanks to the agreement with the voluntary organization “Save You”, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs is also offering a platform providing protection, support and mutual assistance to French women living outside France who are victims of domestic and inter-family violence.