WHO Multi-country Study onWomen’s Health and DomesticViolence against WomenInitial results on prevalence,health outcomes and women’s responsesSummary reportWHO’s landmark study documents thehorrifying extent of violence against women bytheir intimate partners. It also clearly shows thatviolence against women demands a public healthresponse, because the impact of such violencegoes far beyond the immediate harm caused,affecting all aspects of women’s future health.This summary outlines the initial results ofthe study based on evidence collected from over24 000 women by carefully trained teams ofinterviewers. It presents the findings from 15sites in 10 countries representing diverse culturalsettings: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru,Namibia, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand,and the United Republic of Tanzania.Focusing on the prevalence of violence byintimate partners, and the associationsbetween such violence and women’s physical,mental, sexual and reproductive health, thereport also deals with non-partner violence,sexual abuse during childhood and forced firstsexual experience.Who do women turn to and whom do theytell about the violence in their lives? Althoughsome women leave home and some fight back,the shocking answer in too many cases is nobody.The report culminates in 15 recommendationsto strengthen national commitment and actionon violence against women by promotingprimary prevention, harnessing education systems,strengthening health sector responses, supportingwomen living with violence, sensitizing criminaljustice systems, and undertaking research andenhancing collaboration.ISBN 92 4 159351 2The World Health Organization was established in 1948as a specialized agency of the United Nations serving asthe directing and coordinating authority for internationalhealth matters and public health. One of WHO’sconstitutional functions is to provide objective andreliable information and advice in the field of humanhealth, a responsibility that it fulfils in part through itsextensive programme of publications.The Organization seeks through its publications tosupport national health strategies and address the mostpressing public health concerns of populations aroundthe world. To respond to the needs of Member States atall levels of development, WHO publishes practicalmanuals, handbooks and training material for specificcategories of health workers; internationally applicableguidelines and standards; reviews and analyses of healthpolicies, programmes and research; and state-of-the-artconsensus reports that offer technical advice andrecommendations for decision-makers. These books areclosely tied to the Organization’s priority activities,encompassing disease prevention and control, thedevelopment of equitable health systems based onprimary health care, and health promotion for individualsand communities. Progress towards better health for allalso demands the global dissemination and exchange ofinformation that draws on the knowledge andexperience of all WHO’s Member countries and thecollaboration of world leaders in public health and thebiomedical sciences.To ensure the widest possible availability ofauthoritative information and guidance on health matters,WHO secures the broad international distribution of itspublications and encourages their translation andadaptation. By helping to promote and protect health andprevent and control disease throughout the world,WHO’s books contribute to achieving the Organization’sprincipal objective – the attainment by all people of thehighest possible level of health.After knowing I was pregnant, hechanged. No more sweet and kindwords from him... He would hit meand throw things at me. He meant tokill me. Once he lifted a table andthrew it at me... I survived. Later thatnight, we fought. He used a broom tohit me several times. I was bruised allover. I was in such a great pain neverexperienced before...Woman interviewed in ThailandSo I take a blanket and I spend thenight with my children out in the coldbecause he is hitting me too much andI have to take the kids to stop himhitting them too. I would go up themountain, and sleep there all night. I’vedone that more than ten times...Woman interviewed in PeruWHO Multi-countryStudy on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against WomenInitial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responsesSummary reportWHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataWHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women: summary report of initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses.1. Domestic violence 2. Sex offenses 3. Women’s health 4. Cross-cultural comparison 5. Multicenter studies 6. Epidemiologic studies I.World Health Organization.ISBN 92 4 159351 2 (NLM classification: WA 309)Suggested citation: WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women: summary report of initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2005.© World Health Organization 2005All rights reserved. Publications of the World Health Organization can be obtained from WHO Press, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (tel: +41 22 791 2476; fax: +41 22 791 4857; email: [email protected]). Requests for permission to reproduce or translate WHO publications – whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution – should be addressed to WHO Press, at the above address (fax: +41 22 791 4806; email: [email protected]). The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.All reasonable precautions have been taken by the World Health Organization to verify the information contained in this