One in three women in the Region of the Americas suffers physical or sexual violence throughout her life
Washington, DC, November 19, 2025 (PAHO/WHO) – Violence against women and girls continues to be a serious and persistent problem in the Region of the Americas, according to new estimates launched today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners. The data, released ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls on November 25, reveals that one in three women aged 15 and over in the Region has experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.
Intimate partner violence remains the most common form of abuse: one in four women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence from their partner, while one in eight have suffered sexual violence from someone other than their partner. Young women face early risks: 21% of those between 15 and 19 years old suffer intimate partner violence before turning 20, while older women are not spared: 23% of women aged 65 or older report this type of violence.
«These numbers of women affected in our Region are so surprising because violence can be prevented. Collecting high-quality data on violence against women is the first step to give this important issue the visibility and urgency it requires,» said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO regional office for the Americas. «There is much we know and much we can do together to prevent and respond to violence in all its forms. We must act to prevent violence, support survivors, and invest in strategies that break cycles of abuse.»
A persistent crisis
Despite growing awareness, national multi-sectoral policies and health service interventions, progress in reducing violence against women has been slow. Over the past two decades, prevalence rates of intimate partner violence have remained virtually unchanged, with only a small decline of 0.2% annually observed globally. Countries in the Americas are unlikely to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5.2, which calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
“The shame and stigma associated with sexual violence makes reporting difficult, suggesting that the true numbers are likely much higher,” said Britta Baer, PAHO Advisor on Violence Prevention. “These figures underscore the urgency of acting in all countries of the Region, especially by strengthening timely access to post-rape care.”
The new estimates represent the most comprehensive study on the prevalence of intimate and non-intimate sexual violence. The estimates analyze and present data from 2000 to 2023 (the latest year with available data) in 168 countries and territories, including 29 in the Americas. This provides a crucial basis for informed policy decisions.
Violence against women has serious and long-lasting impacts, including physical injuries, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, depression and, in the most extreme cases, femicide. Children exposed to violence in the home are more likely to experience or perpetrate abuse as adults, perpetuating the cycle of violence.
A call to action
PAHO continues to support countries in strengthening prevention and response through evidence-based strategies, including the RESPECT framework. RESPECT identifies seven interventions to prevent violence: strengthening relational skills; empower women and girls; secure services; reduce poverty; create enabling environments; prevent child and adolescent abuse; and transform unequal gender attitudes, beliefs and norms.
The health sector plays a vital role in early identification of at-risk groups, providing frontline support, high-quality clinical care and connecting survivors to wider services. Ensuring that survivors are heard, believed and supported is a minimum requirement for an effective response.
PAHO has long been working with governments in the Americas to:
- Promote the strategic use of data for decision making and advocacy;
- Support the development and review of national prevention policies and plans;
- Strengthen health system capacities to respond to survivors, including supporting countries in start-up. LIVES—a WHO training curriculum for health care providers—within health services;
- Facilitate regional dialogue and exchange of experiences to scale up effective interventions.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism 2025, PAHO will host a hybrid event on November 24 in collaboration with UN Women and the World Bank to present new estimates on the prevalence of violence against women in the Americas. This event aims to open a dialogue on interventions that have been shown to be effective in preventing, responding to and eliminating violence against women and girls in the region.
“It is essential to remember that violence against women is a present challenge in all the countries of our Region,” emphasized Dr. Barbosa. “That is why it is, and must continue to be, a regional priority and a shared commitment to make this form of violence visible, strengthen decision-making and sustain the investments necessary to prevent it and respond to it effectively.”
About the report
The report, Prevalence estimates of violence against women, 2023 was developed by WHO and the Special Program for Research, Development and Training of Researchers in Human Reproduction (HRP) of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank on behalf of and with the United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Estimates and Data on Violence against Women. The Working Group includes representatives from WHO, UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).
Modeling is used to improve the comparability of estimates across countries and regions to the extent permitted by existing data. All surveys are likely to underestimate the true prevalence of violence against women, as there will always be women who do not disclose these experiences, especially where this violence is highly stigmatized. Sexual violence is particularly underreported in many settings. In some places, poorly designed or implemented surveys further exacerbate this underestimation.
