Micronesia
Population size:
113,815 [1]
Number of people experiencing domestic abuse each year:
Women who have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime:33 %
Women Physical and/or Sexual Intimate Partner Violence in the last 12 months against women: 24 % [2]
No research on male victims or other gender identities.
Physical and/or sexual violence by partners - Almost one in three ever-partnered women in the FSM (32.8%) have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner at least once in their life. - Nearly one in four ever-partnered women (24.1%) experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner in the 12 months preceding the interview. This figure was the highest among women aged 15-24 (34.7%). - Nearly 29% of ever-partnered women have experienced physical violence by a partner in their lifetime. The most common acts of physical violence were being slapped or having something thrown at them. - 6.3% of ever-pregnant women experienced physical partner violence in pregnancy and in almost half of the cases women were punched in the abdomen. - Slightly over 18% of ever-partnered women have experienced sexual violence by a partner in their lifetime and the most common act of sexual violence was being forced to have sexual intercourse.
Impact of partner violence on women’s health - Two in five women who ever experienced partner violence (41%) were injured at least once in their lifetime due to the violence.[3]
Cost of domestic abuse to the economy each year:
No research.
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
No research
Current law and policy:
No legal protection against domestic violence exists outside of the constitution protection against sex discrimination. No legal protection against domestic violence exists outside of the constitution protection against sex discrimination. This includes no national legislation against sexual assault and rape of women over 13.
It has been difficult to determine precisely the prevalence of domestic violence in since (1) most abuse goes unreported; (2) there is no organisation that keeps records on the number of reports or calls; and (3) data cannot be found in hospital or clinic records. Stories told by health care professionals in Yap suggest anecdotally there are high rates of domestic violence yet there have been no surveys to quantify the prevalence and characteristics of domestic violence in Yap, or anywhere else in the FSM. An Outer Island Health Assessment concluded: “Domestic violence is not often publicly discussed among the Micronesian community.” This study shows that Yap at 41% has a higher percentage than any of these. The problem may well be as severe throughout the FSM, where at least two deaths have been reported as the result of severe wife beating, but a culture of silence still surrounds the issue throughout Micronesia. (Yap, Micronesia) [4]
Sources