Fifty percent of men in Colombia have engaged in abusive behavior towards their wives, according to a study conducted by three United Nations organizations. The men surveyed admitted to intimidating their wives and using physical aggression such as punching and slapping. The study involved 1080 people in ten Colombian cities over the period of October 2009 to April 2010. The three UN organizations that prepared the study were the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Close to half of the 1080 people surveyed were women. Of the women polled, 48% said they had experienced gender-based violence. The study found that girls as young as eleven years old report experiencing gender violence from male companions. The study also found that the highest percentage of victims of gender violence were women between the ages of eighteen to thirty. Only four out of every ten women file complaints against their abusers. The study noted that 79% of those surveyed believed that family problems should be resolved at home.
Compiled from: UN Study: 50% of Colombian Men Admit to Abusive Behavior, Latin American Herald Tribune, (13 October 2010).