November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. United Nations Women observes the day annually with a themed 16-day campaign; this year’s theme is “Unite! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls.” The organization will ask financiers for increased donations to women’s organizations that still have not condemned the violence Hamas perpetrated against Israeli women and children last month.
Until Friday, UN Women had not explicitly mentioned Hamas’s October 7 violence against Israelis, when terrorists raped, sodomized, murdered, beheaded, and mutilated women and children.
“We met with Israeli women’s organizations and heard about the work of the Civil Commission on crimes against women and children,” UN Women said on Friday. “We remain alarmed by gender-based violence reports on 7 Oct and call for rigorous investigation, prioritizing the rights, needs and safety of those affected.”
The same day it ended its weeks-long long silence, UN Women also expressed unequivocal support for Palestinian women.
“We remain deeply concerned about the well-being of women and girls in Gaza and their dire need for safety and protection from all forms of violence,” it said. “We met with Palestinian women’s organizations and reiterated our support to women and girls in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Note the distinctions between UN Women’s two statements. The group refuses to believe Israeli women and treats Hamas’s crimes as unsubstantiated. They are not. National Review highlighted the Civil Commission that documents sexual crime, the same one that met with UN representatives. Read it, then imagine how UN Women could still demand more “investigation” into the “reports” of violence. While UN Women issues urgent pleas to help Gazans, it clamors for more proof that Israeli women were brutalized. This from the organization that calls itself the global champion for women.
Gender-based violence is an issue international organizations are well-poised to invest in. Women and girls face gender-based threats everywhere. More aid could certainly help. But the international women’s community only seems interested in ending or shedding light on violence against women and girls, so long as they’re not Israeli women and girls. Women’s organizations took a side in this fight — one that denies or ignores Hamas’s systemic gender-based violence.
“It is time to get serious and fund what we know works to stop violence against women and girls,” UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said of the campaign to end gender-based violence. “Invest in reforming and implementing laws and multisectoral policies. Provide services to survivors. Scale up evidence-based prevention interventions. With the will and contributions of all stakeholders and sectors, we can unlock financing, track budget allocations, and increase gender-responsive budgeting. We have the solutions and resources to end violence against women and girls in our lifetimes. It is our choice.”
In tandem with the UN’s campaign, in the coming days we’ll feature 15 women’s organizations that have been silent on the violence against Israeli women and children. Bahous is right: These organizations have an overwhelming amount of resources. How they use the millions of dollars provided to them is, indeed, a choice. So too is the extent to which countries and NGOs fund organizations that ignore Hamas’s barbarism.