Despite great advances in women’s rights and equality, women and girls around the world still face unequal access to education and political participation, are forced into child marriage, labor, or sex slavery, and suffer from gender and sexual based violence. Women trapped in conflicts, are often the victims of rape or sexual assault as weapons of war and torture. Additionally, female genital mutilation, otherwise known as FGM, is still practiced in over 30 countries around the world, and an estimated 200 million women around the globe have needlessly undergone the painful procedure. Many women who have fought for an end to these practices and violence have then become victims of persecution or other human rights abuses.
The PTV Women’s Fund provides newly-arrived women with trauma informed health care and counseling by female staff, peer support, and assistance with housing, employment and food.