Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2023: WHO Region of the Americas

Overview

This regional overview presents the 2023 prevalence estimates of violence against women in the WHO Region of the Americas, comparing regional findings with global estimates. It summarizes the prevalence of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence among women, including lifetime and past-12-month prevalence by age group. The document also presents estimates of the combined burden of these forms of violence, the estimated numbers of women affected across the region, and country-level estimates of intimate partner violence for Member States of the WHO Region of the Americas, highlighting variation in prevalence across countries.

The overview emphasizes that violence against women remains a major public health crisis with significant social and economic consequences and underscores the need for governments to strengthen commitments to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5, target 5.2. It identifies priority actions including reinforcing gender-equitable laws and policies, strengthening data collection and measurement, addressing discriminatory social norms, expanding evidence-based prevention programmes, improving survivor-centred multisectoral services, and increasing sustainable financing to support prevention and response efforts.