New Delhi: Nearly one in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday.The New Indian Express reported, citing estimates, that around 33% of women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence, and the South-East Asia Region (SEARO) is the second-highest in this regard.WHO SEARO regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh told the daily that most women are at a greater risk of being abused by the people they live with. Most of this is in the form of intimate partner violence, she added.Violence against women, especially intimate partner violence, has serious health impacts, both immediate and long term. These encompass injuries as well as serious physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems,” she said.Marking the start of ‘16 Days of Activism’ against ‘gender-based violence’, she said violence against women is preventable. “It is rooted in gender inequality and harmful gender norms that make violence against women acceptable. In particular, evidence shows that intimate partner violence and sexual violence result from factors occurring at individual, family, community and wider society levels,” she said.In 2021 as well, WHO had released a similar report highlighting the same numbers. It had said that the number has remained largely unchanged over the past decade.“Unlike COVID-19, violence against women cannot be stopped with a vaccine. We can only fight it with deep-rooted and sustained efforts – by governments, communities and individuals – to change harmful attitudes, improve access to opportunities and services for women and girls, and foster healthy and mutually respectful relationships,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, had said.Also read: Why Does Our Government Need a Graphic Depiction of Violence Against Women to Act?Quantifying the impact of gender violence, in terms of the physical and mental trauma women endure, can be difficult. Such experiences may occur either on a daily basis or intermittently. It’s important to note that the impact of violence could go beyond physical and mental their well-being.A woman experiencing gender violence often incurs higher costs, including medical expenses, emotional well-being, and disruptions to education or employment.According to a report by UN Women, published in 2016, women who experience violence earn 60% lower than women who do not experience such violence.The report said, citing research, that “the cost of violence against women could amount to around 2% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). This is equivalent to 1.5 trillion, approximately, the size of the economy of Canada.”India could increase its GDP by $770 billion by 2025 by getting more women to work and increasing equality, said McKinsey Global Institute in 2018. Yet, only 27% of Indian women are in the workforce.The Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) found that only 10% of working-age Indian women in 2022 were either employed or looking for jobs, Al Jazeera reported in April 2023. That means only 39 million women are employed in the workforce compared with 361 million men
