Moving beyond rhetoric, this session aims to showcase the tangible efforts underway at the country level to shift power further towards Women-Led Organizations (WLOs) and support for localized Gender-Based Violence (GBV) response models in the Humanitarian Reset. WLO leaders will share concrete models for more inclusive decision-making, meaningful leadership of women in crisis response and effective, survivor-centered GBV response, followed by discussion on how such efforts can be further scaled and embedded as part of the Humanitarian Reset.

Background:

The humanitarian system faces a severe crisis marked by escalating needs, critical funding shortfalls, and a politicized pushback against gender equality and gains by the women’s movement. Women Led Organizations have been disproportionately impacted by the humanitarian sector defunding. According to anOCHA/GBV AoR survey on the US funding freeze, 80% of WLOs respondents received termination notices and had to reduce their staff capacities by 43%. AUN Women survey from March 2025, involving 411 WLOs across 44 countries, also showed a deep funding crisis: 90% of respondents had been financially impacted by funding cuts and 51% had already suspended programmes or reduced staff, with GBV services being most impacted. The ripple effects of funding cuts are now visible with the reduced provision of life-saving services for GBV survivors, across crisis contexts.

While acknowledging the real pushback on gender and GBV response capacities, this hybrid session will leverage the strong action that continues by WLOs and women leaders to serve their communities and survivors of GBV in localized and accountable ways. The session also seeks to build on and further action the commitments made by the Emergency Response Coordinator and the Protection Cluster lead agencies under the Humanitarian Reset to safeguard GBV response, center the protection of women and girls, and further elevate the leadership of national Women’s Rights Organizations and WLOs in driving this work.

The session will amplify the voices and actions of WLOs, highlighting the ways their agency is driving forward the prevention and response to GBV and reshaping leadership in emergency response. Recommendations will be shared to humanitarian leaders and stakeholders who are seeking ways to further accelerate and scale responsive GBV interventions and support WLOs to go beyond their role as implementing partners, highlighting key learnings and new ways of working to inform theHumanitarian Reset Roadmap.

Objectives:

This session will shine a spotlight on collaborative, rights-based mechanisms and strategies being advanced by WLOs and their allies that demonstrate how power is being shifted in tangible and meaningful ways as part of effective, survivor-centered GBV response and humanitarian coordination efforts.

The specific objectives include:

1. Showcase and promote models that empower WLOs to engage in design, decision-making, and leadership on GBV risk mitigation and humanitarian response, including through:
1. Innovative and empowering funding modalities to support feminist networks and GBV service providers, beyond pooled funds;
2. Cross-sectoral approaches to risk mitigation employing a gender and GBV lens;
3. Inclusive platforms that support collaborative decision-making and empowered local leadership;
4. Collaborative advocacy for prioritizing the protection, rights and needs of women and girls, aligned with the Humanitarian Reset Roadmap.
2. Identify and explore pathways for further scaling and embedding such efforts into the Humanitarian Reset Roadmap, ensuring rhetoric in support of GBV response and local leadership translates into real change for survivors.
3. Spotlight the humanitarian structures and platforms that enable diverse WLOs to advise and influence HCs and HCTs on the prioritization of protection and needs of women and girls through mechanisms like the Women’s Advisory Groups.