Geneva, Switzerland – November 19, 2025
America News World
A major new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that violence against women is still one of the biggest human-rights crises on earth. Almost no progress has been made in the last two decades.
Key numbers from the 2023 report:
• 840 million women – nearly 1 in 3 worldwide – have suffered physical or sexual violence from a partner or someone else in their lifetime.
• That number has hardly changed since 2000.
• In the past 12 months before the study, 316 million women (11% of women aged 15+) were beaten or sexually attacked by an intimate partner.
• For the first time, the report counts sexual violence by non-partners: 263 million women have been attacked by someone who was not their partner since the age of 15. Experts say the real number is much higher because many women never report it.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said:
“No society can call itself fair or safe while half its people live in fear. Behind every number is a real woman or girl whose life has been changed forever. Ending this violence is not optional – it is necessary for peace, health and development. A safer world for women is a better world for everyone.”
Funding is falling at the worst possible time
Only 0.2% of global development aid went to programs that prevent violence against women in 2022, and the amount has dropped even more in 2025. At the same time, wars, climate disasters, poverty and new technology are putting millions more women and girls at higher risk.
The violence starts early and lasts a lifetime
• 12.5 million girls aged 15–19 (16%) suffered physical or sexual violence from a partner in the past year alone.
• Women who experience violence are much more likely to have unwanted pregnancies, catch sexually transmitted infections, and suffer depression.
Where the problem is worst (past 12 months intimate partner violence):
1. Oceania (excluding Australia/New Zealand) – 38%
2. Central and Southern Asia – 18%
3. Sub-Saharan Africa – 17%
4. Northern Africa – 16%
The safest region: Europe and Northern America – 5%
Even in the United States and Canada, however, thousands of women are still beaten, raped or killed by partners every year.
The report praises countries that are taking real action. Cambodia is updating its laws and building better shelters. Ecuador, Liberia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda have created full national plans with their own money, even while international aid is shrinking.
What needs to happen now
The WHO and UN partners say governments must:
1. Greatly increase money for proven prevention programs
2. Build strong health, police and social services that put survivors first
3. Collect better data, especially about disabled women, indigenous women, migrants and women in war or disaster zones
4. Pass and actually enforce laws that protect and empower women and girls
A new version of the RESPECT Women framework was launched with the report. RESPECT gives clear, practical steps that any country can use – even in refugee camps or disaster areas.
UN leaders add their voices
Dr Sima Bahous, UN Women: “Ending violence against women needs courage and collective action. Gender equality makes the whole world safer and fairer.”
Diene Keita, UNFPA: “This violence hurts women, families and whole societies for generations. We must act urgently so every woman can live free and reach her full potential.”
Catherine Russell, UNICEF: “Many children grow up watching their mother being hit or humiliated. We have to break this cycle before it passes to the next generation.”
The report studied information from 168 countries between 2000 and 2023. Researchers used statistical modelling to make the numbers comparable. Still, almost everyone agrees the true numbers are higher because shame and fear keep many women silent.
America News World note:
While the United States has one of the lower rates in the world (around 5% in the past year), thousands of American women are still killed by partners every year, and millions live with physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Domestic violence shelters across the country are full, and funding for prevention programs has been cut in many states.
There can be no more excuses. The world has known about this crisis for decades. The solutions exist. What is missing is the political will and the money to use them.
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