Site search News Business Technology Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Documentaries Reports of violence against women in Gaza surge, UN agency finds Save…
Published
Source: BBC News
Site search
News
Business
Technology
Culture
Arts
Travel
Earth
Audio
Video
Documentaries
Save
Yolande Knell,Middle East correspondent and
Malak Hassouneh,Jerusalem
There has been a sharp rise in reports of violence against women and girls in the Gaza Strip, including early and forced marriage, according to a series of recent reports from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
[One report, which analyses data collected by 10 organisations, says](https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2date26-date9/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-June-2026_0.pdf) the protracted crisis in war-torn Gaza has "created conditions in which women and girls face escalating risks of gender-based violence".
It also warns that there has been a "severe escalation" in the number of early and forced marriage incidents in the second quarter of this year. Both are considered types of gender-based violence (GBV) by the UN.
[Another report presenting testimony from 230 women in crowded displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis](https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2date26-date9/Drivers-of-GBV-Gaza-Sept-2026.pdf) makes for a grim read, describing the violence they have experienced or witnessed.
_Some readers may find some of the details in this report distressing_
One displaced woman in a school-turned-shelter in Gaza highlights how rape victims are often married to their rapists to avoid shame and scandal.