Evidence Base for Sexual Abuse in Developed and Developing Countries
Sexual abuse is a serious violation of human rights that affects millions of people worldwide, especially women and girls. Sexual abuse can have devastating physical, psychological, social and economic consequences for the survivors, their families and communities. Sexual abuse can also hinder the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as gender equality, health, education and peace.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sexual abuse is defined as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work” . Sexual abuse can take various forms, such as rape, marital rape, incest, child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, trafficking, forced prostitution, female genital mutilation and child marriage.
The prevalence of sexual abuse varies widely across regions and countries, depending on the definitions, methods and sources of data used. However, some global estimates are available from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database, which provides comparable data on sexual violence for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017 . According to the GBD database, the global prevalence of sexual violence against women aged 15-49 years was 18.4% in 2017, while the global prevalence of sexual violence against men aged 15-49 years was 7.7% in the same year .
The GBD database also shows that the prevalence of sexual violence against women and men has decreased over time in most regions of the world. However, there are significant differences between developed and developing countries. For example, the prevalence of sexual violence against women in high-income countries was 22% in 2017, while the prevalence of sexual violence against women in low-income countries was 33% in the same year . Similarly, the prevalence of sexual violence against men in high-income countries was 6.4% in 2017, while the prevalence of sexual violence against men in low-income countries was 9.3% in the same year .
These differences may reflect various factors that influence the risk and reporting of sexual abuse, such as legal frameworks, social norms, cultural values, gender roles, power dynamics, access to services and awareness campaigns. For instance, some countries have more comprehensive laws and policies to prevent and respond to sexual abuse than others. Some countries have more supportive attitudes and behaviors towards survivors of sexual abuse than others. Some countries have more available and accessible health, legal and social services for survivors of sexual abuse than others. Some countries have more effective prevention and education programs to raise awareness and change attitudes about sexual abuse than others.
Despite the progress made in some areas, sexual abuse remains a pervasive and underreported problem that requires urgent action from all stakeholders. The WHO recommends a multisectoral approach that involves health, education, justice, social welfare and other sectors to address the root causes and consequences of sexual abuse . The WHO also advocates for strengthening the evidence base on sexual abuse by improving data collection and analysis at national and global levels . The WHO further calls for increasing investments and partnerships to support research, interventions and advocacy on sexual abuse .
Sexual abuse is not inevitable. It can be prevented and eliminated with political will, social commitment and collective action. By working together, we can create a world where everyone can live free from fear and violence.
Works Cited
: World Health Organization (WHO). Violence against women. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women (accessed December 14th 2023).
: Borumandnia N., Khadembashi N., Tabatabaei M., Majd H.A. The prevalence rate of sexual violence worldwide: a trend analysis. BMC Public Health 20:1835 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09926-5
: UNICEF. Global Annual Results Report 2021: Every child is protected from violence and exploitation. https://www.unicef.org/reports/global-annual-results-2021-goal-area-3 (accessed December 14th 2023).
