Global, Regional, and National Prevalence Estimates of Physical or Sexual, or Both, Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in 2018

This research study illustrates how intimate partner violence against women is a global public health problem with many short-term and long-term effects on the physical and mental health of women and their children. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for its elimination in target 5.2. To monitor governments' progress towards SDG target 5.2, this study aimed to provide global, regional, and country baseline estimates of physical or sexual (or both) violence against women by male intimate partners. Included studies were conducted between 2000 and 2018, representative at the national or sub-national level and included women aged 15 years or older, and used act-based measures of physical or sexual (or both) intimate partner violence. The findings indicated that globally, 27% of ever-partnered women aged 15–49 years are estimated to have experienced physical or sexual (or both) intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Also, 13% experienced it in the previous year before they were surveyed. 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 intimate partner violence at least once since the age of 15.