Violence against women (VAW) is a global problem that crosses cultural, geographic, religious, social and economic boundaries and is one of the most prevalent forms of human rights violations. Violence against women deprives women of their right to fully take part in social and economic life. It causes a myriad of physical and mental health issues and in some cases results in loss of life. A lack of understanding of the magnitude of VAW, its causes and consequences, and the trends and patterns across cultures and countries hinders the efforts to address it. Up until now, very little has been known about the prevalence and patterns of VAW and domestic violence in Mongolia, and there has been a real need for evidence to learn more about the prevalence, causes and consequences of VAW, and in particular to inform policy directions. To address this lack of data, UNFPA Mongolia initiated a project to strengthen national capacity to combat gender-based violence, particularly violence against women and domestic violence. In 2016, UNFPA Mongolia was awarded funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to implement the project, and together with funding from UNFPA, the nationwide study gender-based violence was conducted. This is the first large-scale quantitative and qualitative study on this topic that has ever been conducted in Mongolia.