WHO Says 1 in 3 Women Endure Physical or Sexual Abuse, Urges Nations to do More to Prevent Violence4Photo© news18.com

WHO Says 1 in 3 Women Endure Physical or Sexual Abuse, Urges Nations to do More to Prevent Violence

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Nearly one in three women worldwide is subjected to physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, pervasive criminal behaviour that has increased during the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The UN agency urged governments to prevent violence, improve services for victims and tackle economic inequalities that often leave women and girls trapped in abusive relationships. Boys should be taught in school about the need for mutual respect in relationships and mutual consent in sex, WHO officials said.

“Violence against women is endemic in every country and culture, causing harm to millions of women and their families, and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Some 31% of women aged 15-49, or up to 852 million women, have experienced physical or sexual violence, the WHO said in what it called the largest-ever such study, encompassing national data and surveys from 2000-2018.