Sexual violence

What is sexual violence?

Sexual violence is a pervasive global health and human rights problem. In some countries approximately one in four women may experience sexual violence by an intimate partner. Sexual violence has profound immediate and long-term consequences on women's physical and mental health.

• Physical consequences: Sexually transmitted infections including HIV, unintended pregnancy and subsequent unsafe abortion, and injuries including trauma to the reproductive tract.
  
  
• Psychological effects: Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression or other serious effects such as suicide attempts.
  
  
• Social consequences: Women who suffer from sexual violence often experience stigma and face rejection by partners, husbands, families, and communities.
  
  

WHO's work on strengthening the health sector response to sexual violence includes:

• the development of guidelines for providing care to sexual assault survivors; and
  
  
• the development of a framework to guide health sector policies on sexual violence.
  
  

Sexual violence in armed conflicts

In armed conflicts, the breakdown of social infrastructures, the disintegration of families and communities and the disruption of inadequate responses leave women and girls vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence, including rape by combatants and sexual exploitation by humanitarian actors and intimate partners or husbands.

The sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated against women in emergency settings is increasingly being reported and documented. This human rights problem has only recently begun to be the focus of international attention, with efforts being made to prevent its occurrence, respond to the survivors' needs and address impunity for those responsible.

WHO is working in partnership with other UN agencies to:

• prevent sexual violence in emergency settings;
  
  
• ensure health services for survivors of sexual violence;
  
  
• address the long-term impacts of sexual violence on community and national recovery efforts; and
  
  
• advocate for an end to impunity for perpetrators.
  
  

Related links

Quotes on sexual violence from the WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence "Since I got married I was sexually harassed and abused by my brothers-in-law in many ways. Even if I am not to blame for this, my husband severely abuses me because of this. Once he almost killed me by driving a knife into my throat and injuring me deeply." (Woman interviewed in Bangladesh). "He stopped the car and I didn't know, I was afraid, very, very afraid, and then he said - you're going to take your clothes off and you're going to have sex with me -, then I said - no, I can't, please, I am sick-, AIDS was not around at that time, but I told him I had a disease and he was going to get it- ok, do you prefer we do this with me holding the gun against your forehead, or without it? -, and then I said - without it -." (Woman interviewed in Brazil)