840 Million Women Experienced Partner or Sexual Violence in Lifetime
Nearly one in three women worldwide, an estimated 840 million, have experienced partner or sexual violence. The rate of reduction for this global crisis has remained minimal over two decades, according to a new WHO report.
Geneva. An estimated 840 million women globally, accounting for nearly one in three, have faced violence from a partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. Progress in curbing this pervasive human rights crisis has seen minimal change over two decades, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners.
The report, analyzing data from 168 countries between 2000 and 2023, indicates a painfully slow annual decline in intimate partner violence of only 0.2%. In the last 12 months alone, 316 million women, 11% of those aged 15 and older, were subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. For the first time, the report also provides estimates on sexual violence by non-partners, affecting 263 million women since age 15, a figure experts caution is likely underreported due to stigma and fear.
"Violence against women is one of humanity’s oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet still one of the least acted upon," stated WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He highlighted that efforts have been hampered by underfunding, despite the existence of effective prevention strategies. In 2022, only 0.2% of global development aid was allocated to programs for preventing violence against women, with funding decreasing further.
Women subjected to violence face increased risks of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Women in least-developed countries and those in conflict-affected or climate-vulnerable settings are disproportionately affected. The report calls for countries to scale up evidence-based prevention programs, strengthen survivor support services, and invest in data systems to track progress and reach the most at-risk groups.