One in six Australian teen girls victims of partner violence

The research, based on WHO data, revealed an 18 per cent average prevalence of physical or sexual violence towards girls in Australia aged 15 to 19.

The research has come out amid a national crisis of violence against women in Australia.

University of Sydney research associate Dr Siobhan O'Dean said intimate partner violence (IPV) was any behaviour that was intended to "cause harm to a current or former romantic partner".

Dr O'Dean said the WHO statistics were "alarming" but unsurprising.

"It is clear from many of the highly publicised cases this year alone, that at its most extreme, IPV results in violent death and/or suicide," Dr O'Dean said.

Laurel House chief executive Kathryn Fordyce said it was predominantly young people between the ages of 15 to 25 who sought her organisation's support. Laurel House is a not-for-profit, community-based sexual assault support service, that operates in Tasmania.

"We have young people that access our service, particularly young women, where there's threats in relation to either outing them [or] threats in relation to the fact that an abusive partner holds intimate images of somebody," Ms Fordyce said.

"Those kinds of threats ... by the perpetrator leaves a young person still navigating a relationship that's really unhealthy."

Data showed that Australian women who had experienced sexual violence were 63 per cent more likely to have not completed year 12 education and 45 per cent more likely to experience financial stress, Dr O'Dean noted.

Among the limitations of the research was the definition of "relationship" which could vary for teenagers and young women.

"Adolescence is a time when individuals establish foundational attitudes and patterns of behaviour including those related to romantic relationships," Dr O'Dean said.

"For adolescent-specific targeted strategies, I think it is crucial to meaningfully involve young people in the design and development of these strategies to ensure they are relevant and effective."

Ms Fordyce said sufficient funding in schools for school-based prevention consent education would help tackle the issue and raise awareness for adolescents experiencing or perpetrating this violence.

"We know harmed people harm people," she said.

"If we can be getting into schools and provide that robust ... early intervention support, we can hopefully change the course of people's lives in relation to what they expect of relationships with their intimate partners."

The research, that spanned 161 countries, showed a higher prevalence of physical or sexual violence towards adolescent girls in lower-income countries and societies where child marriage was common.

In Papua New Guinea, 49 per cent of teen girls who had been in a relationship had experienced this violence at least once in their lives.

Overall, one in four teenage girls who had been in relationships had experienced violence from a partner.

The report found intimate violence from a partner in the past year was higher among teenage girls than among women overall.

The authors said this was likely due to the challenges teens typically face in leaving abusive relationships, such as societal stigma, and lack of resources or support.

Dr O'Dean said research showed adolescents who were victims of IPV were more likely to experience serious mental health problems such as depression and anxiety and have higher drug and alcohol use.

"Recognition of the problem and raising awareness is not effective on its own in reducing violence," she said.

The article, published in medical journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, predicted no country would meet the United Nations sustainable development goal of eliminating violence against women and girls by 2030.