Women-Led Organizations (WLOs) are first responders to Gender-based Violence (GBV) in humanitarian crises, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. Their active engagement and leadership in coordination spaces is critical to prioritizing the needs and perspectives of women and girls, yet WLOs are underrepresented in coordination spaces and leadership due to systemic barriers and exclusionary practices in the humanitarian response architecture.

To address this issue, the GBV Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR), led by UNFPA, in partnership with Women for Change (WFC), Active in Development Aid (ADA) and Trócaire, has actively worked to open coordination spaces to WLO leadership and test various models to support WLO Leadership in Coordination.