Ethiopia

Women in Ethiopia face a complex web of interconnected risks stemming from simmering conflict, economic instability, and targeted repression. In Tigray, for instance, women and girls endured brutal sexual violence without adequate access to medical care, humanitarian assistance, psychosocial support, or justice. Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence struggle to obtain proper healthcare, leaving many to cope with lasting physical consequences, including injury, infection, infertility, and psychological trauma. The agricultural sector, where women comprise nearly half of the rural workforce, remains severely compromised as fields are too dangerous to farm, exacerbating food insecurity and economic vulnerability. Poverty forces many women to leave their homes, oftentimes to seek employment abroad under exploitative conditions with minimal legal protections. While Ethiopian women have historically demonstrated remarkable courage in leading grassroots movements—such as the 2019 #Yikono campaign against sexual harassment and demonstrations for food aid and peace in Tigray—they continue to face repression and harassment. Although novel accountability mechanisms are being pursued, including legal action against Meta for allegedly promoting content linked to human rights abuses during the Tigray war, an overall climate of impunity for crimes against women and girls continues.

Stability in Ethiopia remains precarious, as mounting tensions—particularly between the national government and regional armed groups—raise the specter of full-scale conflict. The resumption of civil war would plunge women and girls who already face significant challenges to their security and daily survival into an even more dire scenario. Regional risks, including friction between Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as potential conflict spillover from Sudan, also remain poised to worsen. The full impact of US foreign aid cuts continues to take shape, with disease transmission and food security likely to increase due to insufficient funding. At least 85 percent of civil society organizations in Ethiopia have already paused operations due to US foreign aid cuts, eliminating programs providing sexual and reproductive healthcare, support for survivors of wartime sexual violence, and humanitarian aid. Despite these existential threats, women and girls continue advancing grassroots advocacy and response—for instance, running safe houses for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, which provide psychological support, shelter, medical care, counseling, and vocational training. In the absence of foreign aid or large-scale recovery efforts, these initiatives offer vital services to women and girls.

Tensions between Tigray and the national government are mounting amid accusations of airstrikes and militarization, threatening to reignite full-scale war in Tigray and draw in neighboring Eritrea. Continued escalation of conflict would be catastrophic for the safety and wellbeing of women and girls; conflict-related sexual violence continues to be reported while access to humanitarian aid, medical and trauma support, and justice remains limited.

Nearly 60 percent of more than 480,000 surveyed women and girls in Tigray experienced wartime sexual and gender-based violence (GBV), acccoring to a new report by the Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide. Rape and sexual slavery were the most commonly reported violations, with 19 percent of surveyed survivors suffering from prolonged physical injuries as a result. The Commission—created by the Tigray regional administration to document violations committed during the 2020 – 2022 war—raised concerns about the national transitional justice project’s capacity and willingness to address violations committed in Tigray.

An outbreak of Marburg virus—a hemorrhagic fever which kills up to 80 percent of people infected—has been confirmed in southern Ethiopia. Women and girls face greater risk of infection due to caregiving roles which increase exposure, with pregnant women especially vulnerable to severe illness. The decimation of healthcare infrastructure by conflict in both Ethiopia and neighboring South Sudan as well as mass displacement could accelerate spread of the virus and impede response.

Security forces are increasingly harassing, arbitrarily detaining, and arresting journalists in the run-up to the 2026 national elections. These efforts threaten women working in the media and impede access to information relevant to women’s wellbeing; for instance, three journalists were arrested after reporting on healthcare workers. This follows the April 2025 passage of amendments which further enable the government to control public and private media corporations and an ongoing crackdown on civil society. Forty-two countries issued a statement to the UN citing concerns about narrowing civic space in Ethiopia.

As of October 2025, the World Food Programme reduced food rations for refugees in Ethiopia from a 60 percent ration to 40 percent, meaning people are receiving less than 1,000 calories per day. Without additional funds, programs for breastfeeding women and malnourished children will end in December 2025. This comes as food assistance needs are projected to increase across Ethiopia in early 2026.

The war in Tigray led to widespread deforestation and soil degradation, destroying livelihoods and food systems. Women comprise 75 percent of Ethiopia’s agricultural workers, while destruction of vegetation exposes women and girls to greater risk of violence as they must travel farther to access food and firewood.

Several organizations continue to run safe houses for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, providing essential services such as psychological support, shelter, medical care, counseling, and vocational training. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Association for Women’s Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD) operates a safe house where survivors of recent wars in Amhara and Oromia have found refuge and support. AWSAD also launched a new project to further expand gender-based violence services in the Amhara region. Similarly, in Mekelle, Tigray, the Women’s Association of Tigray, with support from UNFPA and the Government of Canada, runs a safe house to assist survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. These initiatives require continued support to sustain the lifesaving work of the women who volunteer and work for these organizations.