Domestic violence surveyed

Three women in 10 on average report being victims of domestic violence in six industrialised states, according to figures released yesterday by the United Nations Children's Fund. The rate varies from 20 per cent in New Zealand and Switzerland to 28 per cent in the United States and 59 per cent in Japan. The report, Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls, highlights the rate of domestic violence in 23 countries. Of six industrialised countries covered by the report, Japan had the highest rate of domestic violence, with 59 per cent of women in a 1993 survey reporting physical abuse by their partners.