Children in Oceania, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and Southern Asia are most likely to live with a mother who has experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by a partner in the past year, reflecting pervasive inequalities and global patterns of abuse faced by women, according to new UNICEF data.
The data brief is released following updated global estimates on violence against women published by WHO, on behalf of the UN Violence Against Women Inter-Agency Working Group on Estimation and Data. According to the interagency estimates, over 1 in 10 adolescent girls and women (aged 15 and older) have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months.
UNICEF's findings underscore how this violence extends to children globally, with 1 in 4 children - around 610 million - living with mothers who are experiencing intimate partner violence.
"Today, millions of women and children are living in homes where violence is a part of regular life," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Women's safety and autonomy are paramount to children's well-being."
For the first time, regional data reveal where women and children are most at risk, showing that children's exposure largely mirrors geographical patterns of partner violence among adolescent girls and women.
According to the analysis, Oceania has the highest prevalence, with just over half of children - 3 million - living with a mother who has recently experienced intimate partner violence. Sub-Saharan Africa has the second highest prevalence at 32 per cent, affecting 187 million children. Central and Southern Asia, where 29 per cent of children in the region are exposed, accounts for the largest share of the global burden, totaling 201 million children.
Additional regional findings on children's exposure to intimate partner violence include:
- Northern Africa and Western Asia: 26 per cent, or 52 million children.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: 19 per cent, or 35 million children.
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia: 21 per cent, or 105 million children.
- Europe and Northern America: 13 per cent, or 28 million children.
- Australia and New Zealand: 5 per cent, or about 400,000 children.
Studies show that violence not only harms the health and well-being of women, but also significantly impacts their children's sense of safety, health, and learning. According to the analysis, which also includes data on violent discipline, children growing up in households where women are experiencing violence are also significantly more likely to be subjected to physical or psychological aggression themselves. Such exposure heightens their risk of carrying violence into adulthood, either as victims or perpetrators.
UNICEF calls on governments and partners to invest in proven solutions to end violence against women and violence against children by:
- Coordinating and expanding strategies that simultaneously reduce violence against women and violence against children, including supporting women and girl-led organizations
- Expanding survivor-centred services so women and children can access safety and care.
- Investing in prevention, including parenting support and school-based programmes that promote gender equality and non-violence.
- Tackling harmful social norms that underlie inequality and violence, and amplifying the voices of survivors and young people.
