GENEVA, Switzerland -The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN partners have revealed a devastating lack of progress in addressing violence against women, with nearly one in three, an estimated 840 million globally, experiencing physical or sexual violence from a partner or sexual violence from a non-partner in their lifetime.
This figure has remained largely unchanged since 2000. In the past year alone, 11% of women aged 15 and older, or 316 million, were subjected to violence by an intimate partner. Progress remains agonizingly slow, with intimate partner violence declining by just 0.2% annually over the past two decades.
The report, the most comprehensive of its kind, also provides the first global estimates for non-partner sexual violence, finding that 263 million women have experienced it since age 15. Experts warn that this number is a significant undercount due to stigma and fear of reporting.
“Violence against women is one of humanity’s oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet still one of the least acted upon,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“No society can call itself fair, safe or healthy while half its population lives in fear.”
Funding Cuts
The crisis is critically underfunded. In 2022, a mere 0.2% of global development aid was allocated to violence prevention programmes, with funding falling further in recent years. This collapse in support comes as humanitarian emergencies, technological shifts, and rising inequality are increasing risks for women and girls.
The impact of violence is severe and lifelong, leading to unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and depression. Adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable, with 16% of those aged 15-19 experiencing intimate partner violence in the last year.
Prevalence is not equal globally. Women in least-developed, conflict-affected, and climate-vulnerable settings are disproportionately affected. Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) has a past-year intimate partner violence prevalence of 38%, more than three times the global average.
A Call for Action
The report calls for governments to scale up evidence-based prevention, strengthen services for survivors, and invest in data systems. It was released alongside an updated “RESPECT Women” framework, which offers guidance for prevention.
UN Women Executive Director Dr Sima Bahous emphasised, “Ending violence against women and girls requires courage, commitment, and collective action. Advancing gender equality is how we build a more equal, safer world for everyone.”
The report analyses data from 168 countries and was developed by the WHO and the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme on behalf of the UN Inter-Agency Working Group on Violence Against Women Estimation and Data.
