More than a billion women aged 15 and above have suffered sexual violence during childhood, while an estimated 608 million were subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV) in 2023, according to new global estimates published in The Lancet.

The analysis shows that the highest prevalence of both IPV and sexual violence is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions where the health consequences of abuse are worsened by high rates of HIV and other chronic diseases, the researchers said.

In India, intimate partner violence affected an estimated 23 per cent of women aged 15 and above. The study also found that more than 30 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men in the same age group are believed to have experienced sexual violence as children.

The findings are based on data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2023, described as the "largest, most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss across places and over time" and coordinated by the University of Washington in the US. As the authors noted, "Globally, in 2023, we estimated that 608 million females aged 15 years and older had ever been exposed to IPV (intimate partner violence), and 1·01 billion individuals aged 15 years and older had experienced sexual violence during childhood."

According to the researchers, anxiety and major depressive disorders were among the eight leading causes of disability linked to intimate partner violence. Experiencing sexual violence during childhood was tied to 14 adverse health outcomes, ranging from mental health and substance use disorders to chronic illnesses, with self-harm and schizophrenia emerging as the leading causes of disability connected to such trauma.

The study emphasised that combating violence against women and children is both a human rights imperative and a core public health priority, capable of saving lives, improving mental health, and fostering stronger, more resilient communities.

The authors said the evidence highlights an urgent need for preventive interventions, including stronger legal protections, efforts to advance gender equality, and expanded survivor support systems to mitigate the heavy health burden associated with violence.

The World Health Organization’s global report published in November also pointed to widespread abuse in India, estimating that more than one-fifth of females aged 15–49 experienced intimate partner violence in 2023, with nearly 30 per cent affected at some point in their lives. Globally, the WHO found that almost one in three women — roughly 840 million — have endured partner or sexual violence in their lifetime, a level that has shown little change since 2000.