Sexual violence by intimate partners


Sexual violence by intimate partners deals with the incidence by country of physical abuse, forced sex, or marital rape within the context of domestic violence. Intimate partner sexual violence is defined by any unwanted sexual contact or activity by an intimate partner in order to control an individual through fear, threats, or violence. It can affect anyone.

Domestic violence and sexual abuse

Domestic sexual violence, such as forced sex or marital rape, may follow or be part of physical abuse, but is not always the case. In Mexico and the United States, studies estimate that 40–52% of women experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner have also been sexually coerced by that partner.
Sexual violence may occur without physical violence. In the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in a representative sample of over 6000 men, 7% reported having sexually and physically abused their wives, 22% reported using sexual violence without physical violence and 17% reported that they had used physical violence alone.

Incidence by country

Studies indicate that sexual assault by an intimate partner is neither rare nor unique to any particular region of the world. For instance, 23% of women in North London, England, reported having been the victim of either an attempted or completed rape by a partner in their lifetime. Similar figures have been reported for Guadalajara, Mexico, León, Nicaragua,, Lima, Peru, and for the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. The prevalence of women sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime has also been estimated in a few national surveys.
The table below summarizes some available data on the prevalence of sexual coercion by intimate partners.

National organizations