PAHO Unveils Tool for Sexual Violence Support

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched a rapid assessment tool designed to help health systems across the Americas improve services for women who have experienced sexual violence, addressing persistent regional gaps where one in three women has faced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.

PAHO said the tool provides a practical, evidence-based resource for emergency and clinical facilities to review their procedures, identify gaps in post-rape care, and guide service improvements. “Each woman and girl who has been sexually assaulted deserves timely, sensitive, and comprehensive health care,” says Britta Baer, Advisor on Violence and Injury Prevention, PAHO. She says health services act as lifelines during crises and can help prevent long-term harm when personnel are trained and equipped to respond.

The tool was developed under PAHO’s Strategy and Plan of Action for Strengthening the Health System to Address Violence Against Women (2015–2025), following requests from ministries of health for instruments to monitor progress on regional indicators. Supported by the Government of Canada, it reflects collaboration with ministry teams, regional focal points, and technical experts. PAHO says this process ensured the tool addressed the operational realities of facilities across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Its release coincides with renewed attention to slow global progress on gender-based violence. A new WHO report estimates that 840 million women worldwide have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence, with 316 million affected in the past year alone. UN Women’s 2025 SDG Gender Snapshot reports that none of the gender-related Sustainable Development Goals are on track for achievement by 2030, citing stalled progress in poverty reduction, political participation, and safety. Leaders from WHO, UN Women, UNFPA, and UNICEF call for stronger survivor-centered systems, improved data, expanded prevention strategies, and sustained investment. Their warning comes as global development aid for violence prevention fell to 0.2% of total aid in 2022 and continued to decline in 2025.

PAHO’s rapid assessment tool aims to translate these global commitments into concrete improvements at the facility level. It allows countries to review how survivors are identified, how privacy and informed consent are protected, and whether essential clinical interventions — such as emergency contraception, HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and care for sexually transmitted infections — are delivered. It also encourages health units to examine referral pathways, record-keeping, training needs, and coordination mechanisms with social and legal services. PAHO expects the tool to support stronger institutional capacity and improve monitoring for policy development.

The instrument is the first designed specifically for the regional health context. Initially developed in Spanish, it incorporates WHO clinical and policy guidelines on violence against women and draws on existing quality-assurance frameworks. PAHO adapted these guidelines for the realities of the Americas, with emphasis on core elements of post-rape care and frontline competencies. Pilot tests in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Peru involved national and subnational officials, health managers, and hundreds of practitioners. PAHO said the pilots improved relevance, flexibility, and feasibility across diverse systems. A subsequent expert validation confirmed the tool’s structure and use.

Its release comes as several governments in the region move to reinforce institutional responses. In Mexico, the Ministry of Health marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by highlighting recent efforts to strengthen care for girls, adolescents, and women. National data from INEGI shows that seven in 10 women in the country have experienced violence. Minister of Health David Kershenobich says survivors have a right to receive immediate medical attention without being required to file a complaint. He emphasizes that health workers are not responsible for verifying the survivor’s account and that administrative procedures cannot delay treatment. He also cites ongoing coordination with states to ensure the availability of HIV PEP in health units.

Teresa Ramos, Director General, National Center for Gender Equity and Sexual and Reproductive Health, says Mexico’s Criteria for Comprehensive Care of Sexual Abuse and Assault provide clear standards for respectful and timely care. She describes sexual violence as both a public health urgency and an institutional responsibility. Ramos highlights the implementation of the 2024 decalog in states such as Chiapas and Tabasco and ongoing preparation for its adoption in Aguascalientes and the State of Mexico. She says partnerships with PAHO, UNFPA, federal health institutions, and agencies such as IMSS, ISSSTE, IMSS-Bienestar, PEMEX, SEDENA, and SEMAR aim to reduce fragmentation and create coordinated care systems.

José Moya, Representative in Mexico, PAHO/WHO, says that the country has strengthened its health-sector response through measures such as the ANIMA protocol and new technical guidelines for comprehensive care and safe abortion services. These actions, he says, reflect a broader effort to align national practice with international standards.

Global conditions underscore the urgency of such initiatives. WHO data shows that intimate partner violence has declined at an annual rate of only 0.2% since 2000. UN Women notes that child marriage, female genital mutilation, and other harmful practices remain widespread, with millions of girls affected annually. Conflict environments heighten risk: 676 million women lived near active conflict in 2024, facing increased exposure to hunger, health threats, and violence. Migrant women also face systemic obstacles. Médecins du Monde reports that more than 60% of women on migration routes in Mexico and Central America feel unsafe, and over half experience violence during transit. Many face barriers such as documentation requirements, language challenges, discrimination, and limited access to digital health systems.

UN Women warns that funding cuts and weakened civic space are hindering policy responses, reducing available gender data by 25% since 2020. Yet the economic argument for investment remains strong. UN estimates suggest that targeted measures in care systems, education, the green economy, labor markets, and social protection could lift 110 million women and girls out of extreme poverty by 2050 and yield US$342 trillion in cumulative economic returns. Closing the digital gender gap alone could benefit more than 340 million women and girls and generate US$1.5 trillion in economic value by 2030.

As governments assess next steps, PAHO’s rapid assessment tool introduces a structured mechanism for improving survivor-centered care across the Americas. By helping countries examine service readiness, identify gaps, and strengthen clinical and organizational practices, PAHO aims to support more effective national responses to one of the region’s most persistent public health and human rights challenges.