Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation and public health problem that transcends economic, social and national boundaries. The WHO released a report on global, regional and national estimates for two forms of violence against women: intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence.
Key findings:
- 682 million ever-married/-partnered women aged 15 years and older have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence.
- 316 million ever-married/-partnered women aged 15 years and older have been subjected to recent physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence.
- 263 million of women aged 15 and older report experiencing sexual violence from someone other than a partner at least once in their lifetime.
- Violence against adolescent girls: More than 1 in 5 ever-married/partnered adolescent girls 15-19 years old are estimated to have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.
- One in five ever-married/partnered women aged 65 years and older are estimated to have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence from a current or former husband or male intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.
- In Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Bolivia and Afghanistan, the prevalence of intimate partner violence was twice the global estimated prevalence, with 51 to 61% of ever-married/-partnered women aged between 15 and 49 years estimated to have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence from a current or former husband or male intimate partner at least once in their lives.
Recommended citation:
World Health Organization. (2025). Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2023: global, regional and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and non-partner sexual violence against women. Geneva: World Health Organization.