{
  "id": 9327610,
  "title": "Reports of violence against women in Gaza surge, UN agency finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/reports-of-violence-against-women-in-gaza-surge-un-agency-finds-9327610",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T11:10:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/reports-of-violence-against-women-in-gaza-surge-un-agency-finds/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A surge in reports of violence against women and girls has been observed in the Gaza Strip, according to recent UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports. The prolonged crisis in the war-torn region has created conditions that put women and girls at heightened risk of gender-based violence (GBV), including early and forced marriage. The second quarter of the year saw a staggering 123% increase in reported cases of early and forced marriage compared to the first quarter. Testimonies from 230 women in displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis highlight the severity of the situation, with some women describing instances where rape victims are compelled to marry their attackers to prevent shame and scandal. Similarly, during a previous famine, some men married off their 14-year-old daughters in exchange for food, a practice that was once unheard of before the conflict began in 2023. Despite data collection challenges, the number of reported cases of early and forced marriage has surged, with girls aged 12 to 17 particularly affected. UNFPA representative Nestor Owomuhangi attributes the trend to the breakdown of social structures due to the extreme circumstances, including tens of thousands of deaths, mass destruction, and multiple displacement waves. The UNFPA report also reveals that girls orphaned during the war are especially vulnerable to early marriage, with one woman in a Gaza City camp noting that her uncles married off two 14- and 15-year-old girls because their parents were martyred, aiming to relieve themselves of responsibility and expenses. The UN and humanitarian organizations categorize marriages of girls under 18 as early marriage, a practice that was once less common among Palestinians in Gaza than in the occupied West Bank but has since increased.",
  "summary": "There has been a sharp rise in reports of violence against women and girls in the Gaza Strip, including early and forced marriage, according to a series of recent reports from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}