Photo by Francesco Rachello, via Flickr

Domestic violence against women is widespread in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a recent study by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control.

Researchers conducted surveys of women in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries, and in each one large percentages of women reported experiencing physical or sexual abuse by an intimate partner.

“Most surveys found that between one-fourth and one-half of women reported ever experiencing intimate partner violence,” researchers wrote.

Slightly more than half of respondents (53.3 percent) in a 2003 Bolivia survey reported experiencing violence at some point, and roughly one-quarter reported recent violence.

Read the report HERE.