Shocking ‘one in four women suffer male domestic violence’
than a quarter of women aged under 50 have been abused by a male partner, according to “alarming” estimates.
Analysis of hundreds of studies suggests 27 per cent of women aged 15-49 worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of a partner.
Around one in seven (13 per cent) said this had occurred over the past year.
But researchers said the true prevalence is likely to be higher.
Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other institutions analysed 366 studies conducted between 2000 and 2018 contained in the WHO Global
Database on Prevalence ofViolence Against Women.
Dr Claudia Garcia-Moreno, senior author, said: “The numbers are alarming and research has shown the pandemic exacerbated issues leading to intimate partner violence such as isolation, depression and anxiety, and alcohol use.”
The findings also suggest that domestic violence starts early – some 24 per cent of teenagers aged 15-19 were estimated to have already experienced abuse at the hands of a partner.
This cohort, along with women aged 20-24 had the highest estiMORE mated prevalence of recent violence. It was predicted that 16 per cent experienced the abuse in the past 12 months of the survey.
Lynnmarie Sardinha, lead author of the study – published in The Lancet – said: “The violence these young women experience has long-lasting impacts on their health and well-being.”
Overall, high-income countries had lower estimated rates of both lifetime and past-year domestic violence.
The regions with the lowest predicted rates of abuse were central Europe (16 per cent), central Asia (18 per cent), and western Europe (20 per cent).