“Violence against women is one of humanity's oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet one of the least acted upon,” said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
An estimated 840 million women have been subjected to intimate partner violence or sexual violence during their lifetime, according to WHO's survey.
In the past year alone, 316 million women – 11 percent of all women over the age of 15 – have had a violent partner.
Violence is decreasing by about 0.2 percent a year. "Agonizingly slow," according to the WHO, which expects the number of reported cases to increase.
Increased awareness will likely lead to more reports of violence, says WHO researcher Lynnmarie Sardinha at a press conference.
When it comes to sexual violence from a non-partner, 263 million women have been affected.
The report is based on data collected between 2000 and 2023 from 168 countries.
The situation is worst among the countries in Oceania, excluding Australia and New Zealand. There, 38 percent of women are reported to have been subjected to intimate partner violence in the past year. In South Asia, the same figure is 19 percent and in Africa between 14 and 17 percent.
For Europe and North America, 5 percent applies and in Latin America and the Caribbean, 7 percent.
