Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: taking action and generating evidence

Intimate partner and sexual violence affect a large proportion of the population. The majority of those directly experiencing such violence are women, and the majority perpetrating it are men. The WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women,1 for instance, indicated that 15-71% of women experience physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. The majority of those directly experiencing such violence are women, and the majority perpetrating it are men. The harm these forms of violence cause can last a lifetime and span generations. They have serious adverse effects on health, education, employment and the wider economy. The health…