Violence Against Women is a Global Health Epidemic

It’s the worst and most severe global epidemic in modern history and the numbers are shocking: More than one in three women worldwide is a victim of physical or sexual violence.


One billion women.

Are you one of them? Have you experienced physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of a partner or someone else? Have you reported it? Have you been treated for it? Or have you, like the majority of women worldwide, tried to deal with it on your own out of fear, shame or not knowing who to call?

One billion women have experienced the same violence you have.

On June 20 the World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council on against women. The stunning report, which coordinated statistics and studies from every continent, found that 35 percent of women worldwide–more than a third of all women–are victims of physical or sexual violence, or both. The study included women aged 15 and up.

The study follows last month’s announcement from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that rape was more common than smoking among women under 30 in the U.S. and was just as great a health emergency.

http://www.shewired.com/lifestyle/2013/06/24/op-ed-violence-against-women-global-health-epidemic