A/HRC/38/3 E/CN.6/2018/9 6. In 2017, the trust fund managed 120 projects aimed at preventing and addressing violence against women and girls in 80 countries and territories. 2 At least 340,830 women and girls benefited directly from services for survivors, empowerment activities and protection from violence during the year, among whom were 45,950 women survivors of violence. A total of 6,362,155 people, including men and boys, government officials and the general public, were reached b y supported projects during the year. In 2017, the trust fund sought in particular to reach women and girls from marginalized and underserved communities and groups who face particular challenges because of discrimination, poverty or isolation in rural or remote settings. Among the direct beneficiaries, for example, were at least 37,550 women and girls living with disabilities, 10,640 lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and 8,880 indigenous women. An analysis of trust fund projects showed that the cost of reaching beneficiaries in 2017 was $2.7 per beneficiary, in line with the figure from 2016, illustrating the great impact of often small investments. II. Introduction 7. The global movement for human rights and women’s empowerment has achieved much in recent decades. Nevertheless, violence against women and girls remains prevalent, persistent and devastating. It is recognized as a major obstacle to the fulfilment of the human rights of women and girls and to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As many as 70 per cent of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetimes. 3 At least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of female genital mutilation/cutting in the 30 countries where the practice is most prevalent; in the majority of cases girls were cut before the age of five. 4 More than 750 million women alive today were married before their eighteenth birthday and about 250 million entered into union before the age of 15. 5 The scale of genderbased violence against women and girls underscores the urgency of properly resourcing effective measures to end it. 8. The deeply entrenched nature of gender-based violence affecting all generations, nationalities and communities was recently highlighted by the high profile revelations of widespread sexual harassment and violence starting in the __________________ 2 3 4 5 17-22602 Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d ’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Ke nya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guine a, Peru, Republic of the Congo, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Viet Nam, Zam bia and Zimbabwe, and State of Palestine. World Health Organization, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and South African Medical Research Council, Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2013). United Nations Children’s Fund, Female genital mutilation/cutting: a global concern (New York, 2016). United Nations Children’s Fund, Ending child marriage: progress and prospects (New York, 2014). 3/16