Prevalence of violence against girls in Réunion Island

Abstract

In Réunion Island, according to the VIRAGE survey conducted in three French overseas departments, 30% of women and 25% of men reported experience of violence before age 18 in different spheres of their life (school, leisure, friends, family, immediate social circle). These  roportions are much higher than in mainland France. Within the family, women reported more exposure than men to violence of all kinds (psychological, physical, sexual). Most sexual abusers of girls under age 18 are men in the extended family or the family’s immediate social circle.