Globally, around 1 in 4 teen girls who have been in relationships have experienced intimate partner violence, while in Australia, more than 1 in 6 have experienced intimate partner violence, according to an international study.  The research also found that for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Vanuatu, almost 1 in 2 teen girls who’d been in relationships have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by a husband or other intimate partner at least once in their lives. The researchers say their findings highlight the widespread prevalence of violence from partners against adolescent girls around the world. They call for policies and programmes that increase and ensure gender equality, including secondary education for all girls, equal property rights for women, and addressing harmful practices such as child marriage.
Journal/conference: The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Link to research (DOI): 10.1016/S2352-4642(24)00145-7
Organisation/s: World Health Organization (WHO)
Funder: This study was funded
by the UK Department for International Development (now Foreign
Commonwealth and Development Office) through the UN Women–
WHO Joint Programme on Strengthening Violence Against Women Data
and by the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special
Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human
Reproduction, which is a co-sponsored programme executed by WHO
Media release
From: The Lancet
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health: A quarter of girls aged 15–19 years who have been in a relationship experience violence from their partner at least once, global study suggests  The average rate of physical or sexual violence towards adolescent girls (15-19 years old) who are, or have been, in a relationship is 24%, suggests an analysis of 2018 global, regional, and country estimates from 161 countries and areas. The rate varied greatly across different countries and regions* – from 3% in Georgia to 49% in Papua New Guinea – including:20% in the UK20% in the USA27% in India18% in AustraliaCountries with higher rates of female secondary school enrolment and those with inheritance laws that are more gender-equal had lower prevalence of partner violence against adolescent girls. Lower-income countries and societies with a high prevalence of child marriage had higher prevalence of physical or sexual violence by a partner against adolescent girls. Authors of the study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, say their findings highlight the widespread prevalence of violence from partners against adolescent girls around the world. They call for policies and programmes that increase and ensure gender equality, including secondary education for all girls, equal property rights for women, and addressing harmful practices such as child marriage.