One billion people faced sexual violence as children, study reveals

OVER a billion individuals worldwide aged 15 and above had experienced sexual violence during childhood, while around 608 million females were exposed to intimate partner violence in 2023, according to estimates published in The Lancet journal.

The highest prevalence of both intimate partner and sexual violence was found to be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In these regions, the health impacts of violence are compounded by high rates of HIV and other chronic conditions, researchers noted.

In India, prevalence of intimate partner violence was estimated at 23 per cent among women aged 15 and above. Over 30 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men aged 15 and above are estimated to have experienced sexual violence as a child.

Researchers analysed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, the "largest, most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss across places and over time". The US' University of Washington coordinated the study.

"Globally, in 2023, we estimated that 608 million females aged 15 years and older had ever been exposed to intimate partner violence, and 1.01 billion individuals aged 15 years and older had experienced sexual violence during childhood," authors wrote.

The study provided new evidence linking sexual violence against children and intimate partner violence to a wider range of health outcomes than previously recognised, resulting in higher levels of health loss and disability, they added.

Anxiety and major depressive disorders were among the eight leading causes of disability developed as a result of intimate partner violence, while experiencing sexual violence as a child was associated with 14 health outcomes, including mental health and substance use disorders and chronic illnesses.

Intimate partner violence was linked to 145,000 deaths worldwide, mostly from homicide, suicide, and HIV/AIDS. Researchers also estimated nearly 30,000 women to have been killed by their partners in 2023.

Exposure to sexual violence as a child was associated with 290,000 deaths worldwide in 2023, mostly from suicide, HIV/AIDS, and type 2 diabetes, the study found.

Self-harm and schizophrenia were found to be the leading causes of disability among men, and anxiety the leading cause among women, due to sexual violence during childhood, especially in South Asia.

Addressing violence against women and children is not only a matter of human rights but also a public health priority that can save millions of lives, improve mental health outcomes, and build resilient communities, the researchers said.

"These findings challenge the view of sexual violence against children and intimate partner violence as primarily social or criminal justice issues and underscore their status as major public health priorities," lead author Luisa Sorio Flor, assistant professor at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said.

The findings also underscore an urgent need for preventive measures such as strengthening legal frameworks, promoting gender equality, and expanding support services for survivors to reduce health toll caused by violence, the team said.

The World Health Organisation, in a global report published in November, estimated that over a fifth of females in India aged 15-49 were subjected to intimate partner violence in 2023, while nearly 30 per cent have been affected during their lifetime.

Worldwide, nearly one in three, or 840 million, have suffered partner or sexual violence during their lifetime, a figure that has barely changed since 2000, it said.

(PTI)