Indicator 5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age

Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age

Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

World Health Organization (WHO)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)

Definition:

This indicator measures the percentage of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older who have been subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner, in the previous 12 months. The definition of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and the forms of violence specified under this indicator are presented in the next section (Concepts).

NOTE: References to “violence against women” (VAW) throughout also include adolescent girls (15-19 years old).

Concepts:

According to the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993), violence against women is “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following: Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family […]”. See here for the full definition: https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/48/104

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women includes any abuse perpetrated by a current or former partner within the context of marriage, cohabitation, or any other formal or informal union.

The different forms of violence included in the indicator are defined as follows:

1. Physical violence consists of acts aimed at physically hurting the victim and include, but are not limited to acts like pushing, grabbing, twisting the arm, pulling hair, slapping, kicking, biting, hitting with a fist or object, trying to strangle or suffocate, burning or scalding on purpose, or threatening or attacking with some sort of weapon, gun or knife.

2. Sexual violence is defined as any sort of harmful or unwanted sexual behaviour that is imposed on someone, whether by use of physical force, intimidation, or coercion. It includes acts of abusive sexual contact, forced sexual acts, attempted or completed sexual acts (intercourse) without consent (rape or attempted rape), non-contact acts such as being forced to watch or participate in pornography, etc. In intimate partner relationships, sexual violence is commonly operationally defined in surveys as being physically forced to have sexual intercourse, having sexual intercourse out of fear for what the partner might do or through coercion, and/or being forced to do something sexual that the woman considers humiliating or degrading.

3. Psychological violence consists of any act that induces fear or emotional distress. It includes a range of behaviours that encompass acts of emotional abuse such as being frequently humiliated in public, intimidated or having things you care for destroyed, etc. These often coexist with acts of physical and sexual violence by intimate partners. In addition, surveys often measure controlling behaviours (e.g., being kept from seeing family or friends, or from seeking health care without permission). These are also considered acts of psychological abuse, although usually measured separately. .

For a more detailed definition of physical, sexual, and psychological violence against women, see Guidelines for Producing Statistics on Violence against Women- Statistical Surveys (UN, 2014), and the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes ICCS (UNODC, 2015), and Violence against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018. Global, regional, and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women (WHO, 2021).

Percent (%)

The SDG 5.2.1 Indicator Database comprises data from population-based household surveys representative at the national and/or sub-national level and implementing a methodology that uses act-based questions. All sources date from 2000 to 2018.

A significant proportion of data from low- and middle-income countries are obtained from the Domestic Violence Module of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Some data come from dedicated surveys on violence against women in countries that have implemented, for example, WHO’s violence against women survey methodology or other methodologies consistent with international guidelines and best practices. In the case of higher-income countries, data were obtained from Crime Victimisation Surveys (CVS) or dedicated surveys.

Data are provided by nationally or sub-nationally representative surveys on violence against women conducted by National Statistical Offices (in most cases),line ministries/other national institutions or other entities.

Comparability:

The availability of comparable data remains a challenge in this area as many data collection efforts have relied on different survey methodologies, or used different definitions of partner or spousal violence and recall periods (e.g., different definitions of “lifetime”). Many survey measures and/or reports lack disaggregation by different forms of intimate partner violence (physical, sexual, psychological). There are often differences in survey question formulations and/or denominators e.g. all women [various age ranges], or only ever-married/partnered or currently married/partnered women). There is also heterogeneity in age groups sampled and reported on. The quality of interviewer training also likely varies, although this is difficult to quantify. Willingness to discuss experiences of violence and understanding of relevant concepts may also differ according to how the survey is implemented and the social/cultural context, and this can affect reported prevalence levels.

Given the wide variations in methodologies, measurement, and quality across studies from different countries, statistically adjusted estimates are currently needed to ensure comparability across countries and regions. However, generating estimates is an interim solution and individual countries need to collect robust, internationally comparable, high-quality data that reflect the relevant socio-economic, political and cultural risk, and protective factors associated with the prevalence of violence against women (VAW) to inform appropriate policy responses and programmatic decision-making. As more countries adopt international recommendations and guidelines, including the key elements described in this document, the need for adjustments for estimates for global monitoring will be greatly reduced.

Regularity of data production:

Since 2000, only about 78 countries have conducted more than one survey on VAW. Obtaining data on VAW is a costly and time-consuming exercise, whether they are obtained through stand-alone dedicated surveys or modules in other surveys. Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the main source of data for low- and lower-middle Income Countries (LMICs), are conducted every 5 years or so and dedicated surveys, if repeated, are conducted usually with less periodicity than this. Monitoring this indicator with certain periodicity may be a challenge if sustained capacities are not built and financial resources are not available for regular surveys. At the same time prevalence is unlikely to change from year to year so, depending on resources, every 3-5 years is recommended.

Feasibility:

This indicator calls for global reporting on three types of intimate partner violence (IPV): physical, sexual, and psychological. While there is global consensus on how physical and sexual IPV are generally defined and measured, psychological partner violence—is conceptualized differently across cultures and in different contexts. This indicator therefore currently reports on physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence only. Efforts are underway by custodian agencies to develop a global standard for measuring and reporting psychological IPV. This will enable reporting on the three stipulated types of partner violence in the future.

Similarly, this indicator calls for global reporting of violence ever-partnered women aged 15 years and above have been subjected to. Most data come from DHS, which typically sample only women aged 15-49, and there is a lack of consistency in the age range of sample populations across other country surveys. For those surveys that interview a sample of women from a different age group, the prevalence for the 15-49 age group is often published or can be calculated from available data. The global indicator therefore currently reports on both violence ever-partnered women 15-49 years of age and 15 years and older have been subjected to. Given the existing limited data availability on violence against women aged 50 years and older, efforts are underway by the custodian agencies to improve the measurement and encourage increased availability of data for women of this age group. This will enable a better estimation of the extent of this problem and understanding the experiences of partner violence for women over 50.

This indicator calls for breakdown by form of violence and by age group. Countries are encouraged to compute prevalence data for each form of violence as detailed below to assist comparability at the regional and global levels:

1. Physical intimate partner violence:

Number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) subjected to any act of physical violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months divided by the number of ever-partnered women and girls (aged 15 years and above) in the population multiplied by 100 .

2. Sexual intimate partner violence:

Number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) subjected to any act of sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months divided by the number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) in the population multiplied by 100.

3. Psychological intimate partner violence:

Number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) subjected to psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months divided by the number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) multiplied by 100.

4. Any form of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence:

Number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) who experience physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months divided by the number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) multiplied by 100.

5. Any form of physical, sexual and/or psychological intimate partner violence:

Number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) subjected to any act of physical, sexual and/or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months divided by the number of ever-partnered women (aged 15 years and above) multiplied by 100.

NOTE: To assist comparability at the regional and global level, and due to more comparable data available, countries are encouraged to additionally compute the above figures for ever-partnered women aged 15 to 49. Regional and global reporting on this indicator currently only includes data computed by countries for #4 above (i.e., any form of physical and/or sexual partner violence), and for both the 15-49 and the 15 years and older age groups). For further details, see Feasibility section above.

2022-03-31

World Health Organization (WHO)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)

5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence

5.6.1: Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care. ( as includes a component on saying no to sex.)

11.7.2: Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months

16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to physical, psychological, or sexual violence in the previous 12 months

16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18