At least one in five girls aged between 15 to 19 experienced physical violence committed by their husbands or partners in Bangladesh, according to a Unicef report.
In this region, this type of abuse is most common in Bangladesh, the report, titled “Hidden in plain sight,” says.
The prevalence of partner violence is high in Bangladesh (47%) and India (34%) in South Asia region. Nepal has the lowest 16% prevalence.
Unicef said one in 10 girls across the world have been raped or sexually assaulted by the age of 20.
A study in Bangladesh found that women who married before age 18 were more likely than those who married later to be subjected to physical violence by their partners, according to the report.
About 120 million girls across the world with higher rates in sub-Saharan Africa were forced to have intercourse or take part in other sexual acts.
The study revealed that about six out of 10 children aged between two and 14 were subjected to physical punishment from their carers on a regular basis.
One in every three girls, aged between 15 and 19 years had been victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners, the report said.
