Overview

Reports of gender-based violence (GBV) in Gaza have increased amid prolonged displacement, overcrowded shelters, shortages of essential services and the weakening of protection systems, according to recent assessments published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

A UNFPA analysis of reported cases from April to June 2026 identifies continuing risks for women and girls, including denial of resources, forced and early marriage, and sexual violence. The agency links these risks to displacement, inadequate shelter, scarcity of resources and limited access to essential services.

The findings are reinforced by a separate UNFPA safety audit published on 17 September, which examines how the physical and institutional conditions of displacement sites can increase exposure to violence and prevent survivors from safely seeking assistance.

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Reported cases rise, but figures do not represent total prevalence

The UNFPA trends analysis is based on cases managed by partners in Gaza’s GBV Case Management Taskforce. It identifies an increase in reported incidents during the second quarter of 2026 and highlights the disproportionate effect on women and girls.

However, reported cases should not be interpreted as a complete count of all violence occurring in Gaza. Fear of retaliation, stigma, limited confidentiality, the breakdown of referral services and restricted access to protection providers can prevent survivors from reporting incidents.

The UNFPA safety audit specifically cautions that its findings are intended to identify risk factors and gaps in services, rather than measure the overall prevalence of gender-based violence.

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Overcrowded shelters increase risks

The UNFPA safety audit assessed 15 displacement and shelter sites, two humanitarian service-delivery environments and consultations involving women living in Gaza. The report also drew on a protection-monitoring dataset containing 10,594 interviews.

Its findings point to several recurring problems:

• Insufficient lighting around pathways, toilets, water points and entrances.

• Inadequate privacy in tents, classrooms and shared shelters.

• Unsafe or distant sanitation facilities.

• Overcrowding and limited separation between living spaces.

• Barriers affecting women with disabilities, older women and people with limited mobility.

• Weak or mistrusted complaint and referral systems.

• Concerns about harassment and exploitation at service points and along routes to essential facilities.

The report says these conditions can restrict women’s movement and force them to adopt potentially harmful coping strategies, including delaying the use of sanitation facilities, reducing water consumption or relying on accompaniment to access basic services.

Gaza’s Deepening Humanitarian Crisis – Human Rights & Public Liberties

Scale of displacement places pressure on protection systems

According to the safety audit, data from the Site Management Cluster indicated that, as of 11 May 2026, 1,590 active displacement sites were hosting approximately 1.7 million people across 354,480 households.

The report states that 82.6% of the active sites were temporary or informal locations, while 66.5% had no designated site-management entity. UNFPA links the absence of formal management in many locations to challenges involving accountability, oversight, complaints and the timely response to protection risks.

The concentration of displaced people in crowded areas also places additional pressure on water, sanitation, health and food-distribution services.

Women describe deteriorating safety and privacy

A separate UNFPA report, based on the experiences of 230 women living in displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, documents concerns about overcrowding, limited privacy and reduced access to clean water, food and functioning latrines.

The research was based on 16 focus-group discussions conducted between December 2025 and January 2026. Participants had experienced repeated displacement, with some reporting between two and ten displacements.

The women described how the loss of stable housing and the disruption of family and community protection networks had affected their ability to stay safe. The report also records concerns about access to health, legal and psychosocial support.

The researchers stressed that participants’ accounts should be understood within the report’s methodology and limitations. In particular, indirect references to sexual violence were documented without assuming details that participants had not explicitly stated.

Forms of violence and exploitation

The UNFPA trends analysis identifies several forms of gender-based violence reported in Gaza, including:

The agency says that increasing GBV services, expanding Women and Girls Safe Spaces, improving economic support and strengthening protection measures across humanitarian sectors are among the necessary responses.

Humanitarian aid and protection gaps

The reports describe a situation in which the safety of women and girls is influenced not only by direct acts of violence but also by the design and accessibility of humanitarian services.

For example, poorly lit routes, inadequate sanitation facilities and a lack of confidential complaint mechanisms can increase exposure to danger or discourage women from seeking assistance.

UNFPA recommends that humanitarian organizations:

1. Improve lighting around sanitation facilities, pathways, water points and distribution areas.

2. Rehabilitate toilets and water facilities with greater privacy and accessibility.

3. Ensure that shelters have secure doors, partitions and safer living arrangements.

4. Provide confidential complaint and referral channels staffed by trained personnel.

5. Strengthen the management and monitoring of displacement sites.

6. Ensure that women, including female-headed households and women with disabilities, can access aid independently and safely.

7. Integrate GBV risk reduction into shelter, health, WASH, food security and protection planning.

Wider humanitarian consequences

The findings come amid a broader humanitarian crisis in which women and girls face difficulties accessing health care, food, shelter and protection.

Earlier UN Women reporting cited by Reuters estimated that at least 47 women and girls were killed each day in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025, while approximately one million women and girls were displaced. The agency also warned that extensive infrastructure damage had made access to essential health services extremely difficult.

Those figures concern deaths and displacement rather than the GBV case trends examined by UNFPA. They illustrate the wider gender-specific consequences of the conflict but should not be combined with reported violence cases as though they measured the same phenomenon.

Independent assessment

The UNFPA reports indicate that the risks facing women and girls in Gaza extend beyond individual incidents. Displacement, overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, limited privacy and weakened reporting systems can combine to make everyday activities more dangerous and reduce access to support.

At the same time, the available figures have important limitations. Reported cases depend on access to services and the willingness or ability of survivors to disclose violence. Consequently, an increase in reports may reflect both increased incidents and improved or changed reporting patterns.

The immediate challenge for humanitarian agencies is therefore twofold: prevent violence and exploitation while ensuring that women and girls can access confidential, survivor-centred assistance without fear of retaliation or losing access to essential aid.

Sources

• UNFPA — GBV Trends Analysis, April–June 2026 

• UNFPA — Gender-Based Violence Safety Audit Report: Gaza Strip 

• UNFPA — “I want to feel safe again”: Drivers of Gender-Based Violence in Gaza 

• Reuters — UN report on women and girls killed in Gaza