Based on worldwide statistics, researchers estimate that as many as 1 in 3 women have been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in their lifetime. Most violence against women does not take place in dark alleys with strangers. Women are most at risk from people they know, their family members, their spouses, their friends.

One of the most common forms of abuse was from male intimate partners, with 20% to 50% of women in different countries reporting physical abuse at some point in their lives. Violence against women leads to a variety of problems, with injury and death being just the tip of the iceberg,. Violence is also behind many cases of chronic pain, suicide, depression, anxiety, and reproductive health problems such as pregnancy complications, low birth weight, pelvic inflammatory disease, and unwanted pregnancy.

In addition, sexual abuse in childhood can lead to high-risk behaviors, such as high-risk sex, smoking, or drug use, which can lead to an increased risk of infection with HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. The researchers note that women are not offended by health providers asking if they have been abused, and health professionals can help by becoming aware of local resources for abused women. They can also help an abused woman consider her options, develop safety plans, and think about ways she can protect herself and her children from future violence.

Population Reports 1999;Series L, No. 11.