ABSTRACT
Sexual relationships are considered to be the ultimate expression of intimacy, partnership, love. Yet, far too often, violence and abuse are also part of them. Whether in long-term relationships, dating violence, the first sexual experience, during childhood, for women and children who have been trafficked, in situations of conflict and displacement, this experience has both immediate and long-term impacts on an individual’s health and wellbeing. Sexual violence is used as a form of punishment; a tactic of control; to assert masculinity and men’s right to sexual pleasure, and often society condones this violence, whether by silence and shame or impunity. Victims rather than perpetrators carry the stigma of their experience. Gender inequality and other forms of power inequality underlie much of this violence. Although not specific to them, women and girls comprise the majority of victims, and men are the majority of perpetrators. Because of this, this chapter is focused on sexual violence against women, while also referring to sexual violence against men and children. It uses data from a World Health Organisation (WHO) multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence, which provides an overview of women’s experience of different forms of violence, to illustrate global prevalence. The study involved population-based face-to-face surveys in over 24,000 randomly selected women aged 15-49 years in 15 sites (both urban and rural) in 11 countries.1
