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https://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/facts_figures.php

Facts & Figures
on Violence Against Women

Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent,
country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their
families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence —
yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned. —
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, 8 March 2007

Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At
least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced
into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime — with the abuser usually someone
known to her [1]. Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation
that we know today, it devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls
development.

Violence against women facts and figures from around the world:

• Domestic
  and Intimate Partner Violence

• Sexual
  Violence

• Harmful
  Traditional Practices

• Trafficking
  in Women and Girls

• HIV/AIDS
  and Violence

• Crimes
  against Women in Situations of Armed Conflict

• Violence
  against Women as a Human Rights Violation

Statistics paint a horrifying picture of the social and health consequences
of violence against women. For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major
cause of death and disability [2]. In a 1994 study based on World Bank data about ten
selected risk factors facing women in this age group, rape and domestic
violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria [3]. Moreover, several studies have revealed increasing
links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS. Women who have experienced
violence are at a higher risk of HIV infection: a survey among 1,366 South
African women showed that women who were beaten by their partners were 48
percent more likely to be infected with HIV than those who were not [4].

The economic cost of violence against women is considerable — a 2003 report by
the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the
costs of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceed US$5.8
billion per year: US$4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care
services, while productivity losses account for nearly US$1.8 billion [5]. Violence against women impoverishes individuals,
families and communities, reducing the economic development of each nation [6].

In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly established the UN
Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women. The
Trust Fund is managed by UNIFEM and is the only multilateral grant-making
mechanism that supports local, national and regional efforts to combat
violence. Since it began operations in 1997, the Trust Fund has awarded more
than US$19 million to 263 initiatives to address violence against women in 115
countries. Raising awareness of women’s human rights, these UNIFEM-supported
efforts have linked activists and advocates from all parts of the world; shown
how small, innovative projects impact laws, policies and attitudes; and has
begun to break the wall of silence by moving the issue onto public agendas
everywhere.