Young women are facing ‘alarming’ rates of intimate partner violence
Relationships02.08.2024
A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) is shining a light on a troubling statistic: by the age of 20, nearly 25 per cent of all young women in relationships will have experienced some form of intimate partner violence.
Published in The Lancet, the study reveals the harsh reality of physical and sexual violence on a global scale. Around 19 million young women are expected to face this issue, with almost one in six experiencing such violence in the past year.
“Intimate partner violence is starting alarmingly early for millions of young women around the world,” said Dr. Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research. “Given that violence during these critical formative years can cause profound and lasting harms, it needs to be taken more seriously as a public health issue — with a focus on prevention and targeted support.”
Social, cultural, and economic impacts
To dive deeper into these numbers, the report examined them through a geographical perspective, considering social, cultural, and economic contexts.
While violence against adolescent girls occurs everywhere, the study found big differences depending on the region. WHO estimates that the worst affected regions are Oceania (47 per cent) and central sub-Saharan Africa (40 per cent), while the lowest rates are in central Europe (10 per cent) and central Asia (11 per cent).
The risk of experiencing violence varies widely between these regions as well, from an estimated six per cent in the least affected areas to 49 per cent in the hardest-hit ones.
External factors also play a role — intimate partner violence against young girls is more common in lower-income countries and regions with fewer girls in secondary school and weaker legal rights for women compared to men.
Child marriage also contributes to the problem by increasing power imbalances and risks.
“The study shows that to end gender-based violence, countries need to have policies and programmes in place that increase equality for women and girls,” said study author Dr. Lynnmarie Sardinha, Technical Officer for Violence Against Women Data and Measurement at WHO.
“This means ensuring secondary education for all girls, securing gender-equal property rights, and ending harmful practices such as child marriage, which are often underpinned by the same inequitable gender norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls.”
Pushing for global change
The reality is partner violence can have devastating impacts on young people’s health, education, relationships, and future opportunities.
Physically, it increases the risk of injuries, unplanned pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections. Psychologically, it heightens the likelihood of developing depression and anxiety disorders.
While those facts are clear, little has been done so far to stop it.
WHO notes that no country is on track to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating violence against women and girls.
To make progress, the report suggests real changes, such as ending child marriage — affecting one in five girls globally — and improving girls’ access to secondary education.
The organization is currently working on new guidelines for the prevention of child marriage, which are planned for release by the end of 2024.
