Overview
- In 2023 an estimated 1.01 billion people aged 15 or older had experienced sexual assault in childhood, and 608 million girls and women had ever faced physical or sexual violence from a partner.
- Sexual violence against children accounted for 32.2 million disability‑adjusted life years, with intimate partner violence contributing 18.5 million, pushing the combined burden beyond 50 million DALYs.
- Researchers attribute about 290,000 deaths to childhood sexual violence and about 145,000 to intimate partner violence in 2023, including an estimated 30,000 women killed by partners.
- Among women aged 15–49, intimate partner violence ranked fourth and childhood sexual violence fifth for loss of healthy life globally; for men, childhood sexual violence ranked 11th overall and rose to fourth in high‑income regions, comparable to smoking.
- The study links childhood sexual violence to 14 health conditions and intimate partner violence to eight outcomes, with major impacts from mental disorders, self‑harm, HIV/AIDS, and substance use, while authors stress preventability, likely underestimation, and the need for scaled prevention and survivor‑centered care.