In Focus: International Women's Day 2026
Rights. Justice. Action.
Date:
Women’s rights mean nothing if we cannot defend them.
International Women’s Day 2026 comes at a time when justice systems are under strain. War, repression, and political tensions are weakening the rule of law and limiting access to justice for millions of women and girls.
The global theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls. This theme aligns with the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), which focuses on strengthening access to justice for all women and girls. It calls for dismantling discriminatory laws, strengthening legal protections, addressing structural barriers, and ensuring that justice systems work for women and girls in practice.
Despite decades of progress, no country has achieved full legal equality between women and men. Globally, women currently enjoy only 64 per cent of the legal rights compared to men. At the current pace, it could take 286 years to close the legal protection gap. This is not just a statistic; it reflects structural barriers, discriminatory laws, harmful social norms, and persistent gaps between legal commitments and lived realities.
Across the Europe and Central Asia region, many countries have improved their gender equality legislation, particularly laws addressing violence against women. Yet despite these advancements, significant gaps in ensuring real access to justice for women and girls remain, a new UN Women report shows. Not all countries have standalone non-discrimination laws, and many still need to review legislation in areas such as family law, employment, property rights, or political and public participation to eliminate discriminatory provisions.
Too often, women are turned away, not believed, revictimized, or priced out of legal support. Without equality, justice never arrives.
What justice actually means for women and girls
Without justice, rights are just words. With justice, rights become power.
- Laws that protect women and girls from violence, discrimination, and exploitation.
- Courts that believe ALL women and girls and end impunity.
- Legal aid that women and girls can access and afford.
- Support to recover when rights are violated.
What you can do for Rights. Justice. Action.
Justice doesn’t just happen. It is built and must be funded. Join and support UN Women as we continue to stand with women’s movements worldwide and work with governments that choose equality.
Stories
Albania strengthens protection for women and children facing violence
Albania is taking an important step toward building a justice system that protects women and their children from domestic violence. A newly adopted law now requires courts to automatically include children in protection orders, meaning no child can be left behind simply because they were not named in the original complaint.
Georgia paves the way for better support services for women survivors of violence
Women survivors of violence in Georgia continue to face barriers in accessing essential services, and UN Women, together with its partners, is working to expand a nationwide network of crisis centres offering legal assistance, psychological counselling, social workers’ support and vital information to help survivors break the cycle of violence. To date, nine crisis centres have been opened across the country, improving access to justice and support for survivors.
Albania strengthens protection for women and children facing violence
Albania is taking an important step toward building a justice system that protects women and their children from domestic violence. A newly adopted law now requires courts to automatically include children in protection orders, meaning no child can be left behind simply because they were not named in the original complaint.
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