One in every four women faces violence by spouse, partner: Lancet study
India Today
According to a Lancet study, one in every four women faces violence by spouse or partner. Globally, approximately 27% of ever-partnered women between 15 and 49 years are estimated to have experienced physical, sexual, or both, intimate partner violence.
At least one in every four women has experienced intimate partner violence in their lives, a Lancet study has found. Authors of the study have highlighted the “urgent need to strengthen the public health response to intimate partner violence” and “ensure it is addressed in post-COVID-19 reconstruction efforts”.
The study has been compiled with responses from two million women - spanning 161 countries and areas, and covering 90% of the global population of women and girls (15 years and above), the report published on the website of Lancet said.
Globally, approximately 27% of ever-partnered women between 15 and 49 years are estimated to have experienced physical, sexual, or both, intimate partner violence, with nearly 13% experiencing it in the past year before they were surveyed, the report said.
“This violence starts early, affecting adolescent girls and young women, with 24% of women aged 15-19 years and 26% of women aged 19-24 years having already experienced this violence at least once since the age of 15 years.”
The study further found that “regional variations exist, with low-income countries reporting higher lifetime and, even more pronouncedly, higher past year prevalence compared with high-income countries.
“Intimate partner violence can have major short-term and long-term physical and mental health effects, including injuries, depression, anxiety, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections among others, and can also lead to death,” the authors said in their paper citing other studies.
The study also critiques governments, saying, they are “not on track to meet the SDG targets on the elimination of violence against women and girls, despite robust evidence that intimate partner violence can be prevented”.
