The World Health Organisation WHO, has said that among adolescent girls who have been in a relationship, nearly a quarter (24%), close to 19 million would have experienced physical and or sexual intimate partner violence by the time turning 20 years old.
The World Agency stated that this new analysis was published on Monday in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, adding that almost 1 in 6 (16%) of these adolescent girls experienced such violence in the past year.
WHO noted that partner violence can have devastating impacts on young people’s health, educational achievement, future relationships, and lifelong prospects.
It said, from health perspective, it heightens the likelihood of injuries, depression, anxiety disorders, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and many other physical and psychological conditions.
The Director of WHO’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research department, Dr Pascale Allotey while reacting to this development said intimate partner violence is starting alarmingly early for millions of young women around the world.
Dr Allotey added, “Given that violence during these critical formative years can cause profound and lasting harms, it needs to be taken more seriously as a public health issue – with a focus on prevention and targeted support.”
It also identifies broader social, economic and cultural factors that increase their risks. While violence against adolescent girls occurs everywhere, the authors highlight significant differences in prevalence.
Based on WHO’s estimates, the worst affected regions are Oceania (47%) and central sub-Saharan Africa (40%), for instance, while the lowest rates are in central Europe (10%) and central Asia (11%).
Between countries, there is also a substantive range: from an estimated 6% adolescent girls subjected to such violence in the least affected countries, to 49% in those with the highest rates.
Child marriage (before the age of 18 years) significantly escalates risks, since spousal age differences create power imbalances, economic dependency, and social isolation – all of which increase the likelihood of enduring abuse.
The study also highlighted the urgent need to strengthen support services and early prevention measures tailored for adolescents, alongside actions to advance women’s and girls’ agency and rights.
From school-based programmes that educate both boys and girls on healthy relationships and violence prevention, to legal protections, economic empowerment, saying many adolescents lack their own financial resources, which makes them face challenges in leaving abusive relationships.
Technical Officer for Violence against Women Data and Measurement at WHO, Dr Lynnmarie Sardinha said, “The study shows that to end gender-based violence, countries need to have policies and programmes in place that increase equality for women and girls.
“This means ensuring secondary education for all girls, securing gender-equal property rights and ending harmful practices such as child marriage, which are often underpinned by the same inequitable gender norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls”, Dr Sardinha added.
WHO said further that currently, no country is on track to eliminate violence against women and girls by 2030 Sustainable Development Goal target date.
Ending child marriage which affects 1 in 5 girls globally and expanding girls’ access to secondary education will be critical factors for reducing partner violence against adolescent girls.
WHO vowed to continue to support countries to measure and address violence against women, including efforts to strengthen prevention and response within the health care sector, adding that its new guidelines on prevention of child marriage are planned for release by the end of 2024.