New Delhi: More than 1 billion women worldwide aged 15 years and above were estimated to have experienced sexual violence during childhood in 2023, while about 608 million women were exposed to intimate partner violence, according to new estimates published in The Lancet.
The analysis, based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2023 coordinated by the University of Washington in the US, found that the highest prevalence of both intimate partner and sexual violence was concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In these regions, the health effects of violence are intensified by high rates of HIV and other chronic conditions, the researchers said.
In India, the prevalence of intimate partner violence was estimated at 23 per cent among women aged 15 and above. More than 30 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men in this age group are believed to have suffered sexual violence as children.
“Globally, in 2023, we estimated that 608 million females aged 15 years and older had ever been exposed to IPV (intimate partner violence), and 1.01 billion individuals aged 15 years and older had experienced sexual violence during childhood,” the authors wrote.
Anxiety and major depressive disorders were among the eight leading causes of disability linked to intimate partner violence. Sexual violence in childhood was associated with 14 health outcomes, including mental health and substance use disorders and several chronic illnesses. Self-harm and schizophrenia emerged as leading causes of disability attributable to sexual violence in childhood.
Addressing violence against women and children is not only a human rights imperative but also a critical public health priority that can save millions of lives, improve mental health, and strengthen community resilience, the researchers stressed. They called for urgent preventive measures, including stronger legal frameworks, promotion of gender equality, and expanded support services for survivors, to curb the health burden of violence.
A World Health Organization report released in November estimated that more than one-fifth of Indian women aged 15–49 experienced intimate partner violence in 2023, while nearly 30 per cent have faced it at some point in their lives. Globally, nearly one in three women — about 840 million — have suffered partner or sexual violence during their lifetime, a figure that has changed little since 2000, the report noted.
(Inputs from PTI)