Women's Safety Statistics
WHO's real, current figure on violence against women is stark enough without adding invented survey data on top of it. This page keeps only what traces to a real, current, checkable source.
Last updated: July 2026
The scale, according to WHO's current data
WHO's most recent published figure (reaffirmed November 2025): 840 million women — 31.6% of women worldwide — have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, primarily from an intimate partner. This is an update to WHO's earlier, still-widely-cited 2021 estimate of 1 in 3 women (736 million) — the real number has risen, not stayed flat, which is worth knowing since the older figure still circulates as if current.
The real gender gap in feeling safe at night
Gallup's 2025 Global Safety Report — a real, current, transparent methodology — found 67% of women worldwide report feeling safe walking alone at night, compared to 78% of men, an 11-point gap that holds in 104 of 144 countries surveyed. That's the real figure to cite here; broader claims of women being "3x more likely" to feel unsafe don't match Gallup's actual data.
What actually works: bystander intervention
This is real, well-studied research — unlike the vague "12% reduction (Journal of Interpersonal Violence)" figure that circulates without a traceable source. Ann Coker and colleagues' evaluation of the Green Dot bystander intervention program (published in Violence Against Women, 2011, and in a larger multi-college follow-up in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine) found campuses with the program saw violence victimization rates 17% lower than comparison campuses (46.4% vs. 55.7%), and self-reported violence perpetration frequency dropped by more than 50% on the intervention campus in the initial study. These are real, replicated, substantially larger effects than the unsourced "12%" figure that's often repeated instead.
What we won't publish
A "97% of women changed behavior (NSVRC 2025)" statistic, a six-row situation-by-situation concern table, and five separate technology-adoption figures (location sharing, safety app downloads, daily check-in use, personal safety devices, app-download growth) — none of these trace to a real NSVRC, Pew, NPD Group, YouGov, or Statista publication we could locate. A real, comparable 2025 survey (LogicMark/Talker, 1,500 US women) found 38% say safety concerns limit their daily activities — a real, if more modest, figure worth citing instead of the unsourced 97%.
How daily check-ins help
For women living alone, traveling solo, or in situations where they feel vulnerable, a daily check-in system provides a passive safety net that doesn't require action during a crisis. Unlike a panic button or emergency call — which require actively initiating help — a check-in system works by detecting absence: if you don't check in, your emergency contact is automatically alerted. That matters most in exactly the situations where pulling out a phone to call for help isn't possible. ImAlive's daily check-in is free and takes seconds; automatic alerts to a chosen contact are available on Protect Me.
Sources
- WHO — Violence against women fact sheet
- WHO — Lifetime toll: 840 million women faced partner or sexual violence (Nov 2025)
- Gallup — Global Safety Report 2025
- Coker et al., "Evaluation of Green Dot: An Active Bystander Intervention," Violence Against Women, 2011
- Coker et al., multi-college Green Dot evaluation, American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Frequently Asked Questions
How many women worldwide have experienced violence?
WHO's current figure (reaffirmed November 2025): 840 million women, or 31.6%, have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime — an update to WHO's earlier, still widely-cited 2021 estimate of 1 in 3 (736 million).
Do women feel less safe walking at night than men?
Yes. Gallup's 2025 Global Safety Report found 67% of women worldwide feel safe walking alone at night, versus 78% of men — an 11-point gap holding across 104 of 144 countries surveyed.
Does bystander intervention training actually reduce assault?
Yes, and the real effect is larger than commonly cited. Evaluations of the Green Dot bystander program found campuses using it saw violence victimization rates 17% lower than comparison campuses, with self-reported perpetration dropping by more than 50% in the initial study.
What is the best safety strategy for women living alone?
A layered approach: secure your home, share your location with a trusted contact, use a daily check-in system like ImAlive, and build a local support network. The most important factor is ensuring someone will notice quickly if something goes wrong.
Why is a passive check-in system more effective than a panic button?
A panic button requires actively initiating help during a crisis, which may not be possible if you're incapacitated or in a situation where pulling out a phone would escalate danger. A check-in system detects your absence automatically — if you don't check in, help is triggered without you needing to do anything.
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