According to new data published by UNICEF on Tuesday, more than one in four children globally, around 610 million, live with mothers who have experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse by an intimate partner in the past year, making violence a part of their everyday lives.
The data brief is released following updated global estimates on violence against women published by WHO, on behalf of the UN Violence Against Women Inter-Agency Working Group on Estimation and Data. According to the interagency estimates, over 1 in 10 adolescent girls and women (aged 15 and older) have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months.
According to the WHO, nearly 1 in 3 women, estimated 840 million globally, have experienced partner or sexual violence during their lifetime, a figure that has barely changed since 2000.
In the last 12 months alone, 316 million women – 11% of those aged 15 or older – were subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Progress on reducing intimate partner violence has been painfully slow, with only a 0.2% annual decline over the past two decades.
“Today, millions of women and children are living in homes where violence is a part of regular life,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Women’s safety and autonomy are paramount to children’s well-being.”
For the first time, regional data reveal where women and children are most at risk, showing that children’s exposure largely mirrors geographical patterns of partner violence among adolescent girls and women.
According to the analysis, Oceania has the highest prevalence, with just over half of children – 3 million – living with a mother who has recently experienced intimate partner violence. Sub-Saharan Africa has the second-highest prevalence at 32 per cent, affecting 187 million children. Central and Southern Asia, where 29 per cent of children in the region are exposed, accounts for the largest share of the global burden, totalling 201 million children.
UNICEF called on governments and partners to invest in proven solutions to end violence against women and violence against children.
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