Demand Global Action to End Violence Against Women, Children and Healthcare Workers
The Issue
Violence against women, children, and healthcare workers is a global crisis that demands urgent, coordinated action.
Nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide — an estimated 840 million — have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In the past year alone, hundreds of millions of women and adolescent girls faced intimate partner or sexual violence. More than 600 million children live in homes where their mothers have recently experienced abuse. At the same time, healthcare workers — the people who save lives — face rising attacks, threats, and violence in hospitals, clinics, and conflict zones around the world. WHO has recorded over 1,400 confirmed attacks on health care in emergency settings in a single recent year, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries among health workers and patients.
These are not isolated tragedies. They are systemic failures of protection, justice, and accountability that occur in every region — from homes and schools to hospitals and conflict areas.
We call on the United Nations, the World Health Organization, national governments, and international bodies to take immediate and concrete action:
Strengthen and fully implement laws and policies that criminalize all forms of violence against women and children, ensure rapid investigation and prosecution, and expand survivor-centred support services, shelters, and helplines in every country.
Protect healthcare workers and facilities by enforcing international humanitarian law, adopting strong national legislation against workplace violence in the health sector, ensuring safe working conditions (especially for women doctors and nurses), and treating attacks on health care as serious crimes with zero tolerance.
Accelerate prevention through education, public awareness campaigns, engagement of men and boys as allies, and addressing the root causes of gender-based violence and harmful social norms.
Increase funding and political commitment for evidence-based prevention programmes, data collection, and support systems so that no woman, child, or healthcare worker is left unprotected.
Hold perpetrators accountable and end impunity — whether in peacetime communities or in conflict and crisis settings.
Doctors and healthcare workers risk their lives to care for us. Women and children deserve safety in their homes, schools, and communities. Silence and inaction cost lives every day.
Sign this petition to demand real global protection and accountability.
Share it so our collective voice reaches decision-makers worldwide.
Together we can make safety a universal right.
#StopViolenceWCD
#ProtectHealthcareWorkers
#EndViolenceAgainstWomenAndChildren
#SafeForAll
13
The Issue
Violence against women, children, and healthcare workers is a global crisis that demands urgent, coordinated action.
Nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide — an estimated 840 million — have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In the past year alone, hundreds of millions of women and adolescent girls faced intimate partner or sexual violence. More than 600 million children live in homes where their mothers have recently experienced abuse. At the same time, healthcare workers — the people who save lives — face rising attacks, threats, and violence in hospitals, clinics, and conflict zones around the world. WHO has recorded over 1,400 confirmed attacks on health care in emergency settings in a single recent year, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries among health workers and patients.
These are not isolated tragedies. They are systemic failures of protection, justice, and accountability that occur in every region — from homes and schools to hospitals and conflict areas.
We call on the United Nations, the World Health Organization, national governments, and international bodies to take immediate and concrete action:
Strengthen and fully implement laws and policies that criminalize all forms of violence against women and children, ensure rapid investigation and prosecution, and expand survivor-centred support services, shelters, and helplines in every country.
Protect healthcare workers and facilities by enforcing international humanitarian law, adopting strong national legislation against workplace violence in the health sector, ensuring safe working conditions (especially for women doctors and nurses), and treating attacks on health care as serious crimes with zero tolerance.
Accelerate prevention through education, public awareness campaigns, engagement of men and boys as allies, and addressing the root causes of gender-based violence and harmful social norms.
Increase funding and political commitment for evidence-based prevention programmes, data collection, and support systems so that no woman, child, or healthcare worker is left unprotected.
Hold perpetrators accountable and end impunity — whether in peacetime communities or in conflict and crisis settings.
Doctors and healthcare workers risk their lives to care for us. Women and children deserve safety in their homes, schools, and communities. Silence and inaction cost lives every day.
Sign this petition to demand real global protection and accountability.
Share it so our collective voice reaches decision-makers worldwide.
Together we can make safety a universal right.
#StopViolenceWCD
#ProtectHealthcareWorkers
#EndViolenceAgainstWomenAndChildren
#SafeForAll
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
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Petition created on 12 September 2026