UN report on ‘interpersonal violence’ shows urgent need to scale up prevention

10 December 2014 – One in four children has been physically abused, one in five girls has been sexually abused and one in three women has been a victim of physical violence at some point in her lifetime, according to the first report of its kind on violence prevent by three United Nations agencies released today.

Jointly published today by the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), The Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014 is the first survey of its kind to assess national efforts to address interpersonal violence, namely child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and elder abuse at home, school and communities.

The report, containing data from 133 countries, covering 6.1 billion people and representing 88 per cent of the world’s population contains individual country profiles that reflect the extent to which key violence prevention programmes and laws and selected services for victims of violence are being implemented. It is intended for use by governments to help identify gaps and encourage and guide actions.

For example, only one third of the countries surveyed are implementing large-scale initiatives to prevent violence, such as bullying prevention programmes, visits by nurses to families at risk, and support to those who care for older people,” according to the report. Read More at UN

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