Changes in the prevalence of forcible rape, physical violence, and physical partner violence among men and women in Norway: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study in 2013 and 2022

Background: Repeated prevalence studies are necessary to monitor the government's progress toward preventing community violence over time. This study aims to identify possible changes in self-reported physical violence, forcible rape, and physical partner violence in the Norwegian general population between 2013 and 2022. Methods: The 2022 and 2013 studies employed a cross-sectional design, utilizing identical sampling procedures and measures in 2022. Participants aged 18–74, including males and females, were randomly selected from the Norwegian National Population Registry. Data were collected through phone interviews. The response rate in 2022 was 25.3% of those who answered the phone and 42.9% in 2013. The total number of respondents was 4,295 in 2022 and 4,527 in 2013. Results: Confidence intervals from bootstrapped analyses were used to evaluate crude differences in prevalence estimates between 2013 and 2022 for women and men separately. Among women, the lifetime prevalence of self-reported forcible rape increased from 9.4% in 2013 to 14.4% in 2022 (∆prevalence = 5.0%, 95% CI 3.1–6.8); severe physical violence in adulthood increased from 22.5% to 29.4% (∆prevalence = 6.9%, 95% CI 4.4–9.5); and physical partner violence in adulthood increased from 9.2% to 11.2% (∆prevalence = 2.0%, 95% CI 0.7–3.4). There were no statistically significant changes in self-reported forcible rape, physical violence, and physical partner violence among men between 2013 and 2022. Logistic regression analyses (adjusted for gender, age, education, financial situation, and marital status) corroborated these findings showing overall increased odds of self-reported forcible rape (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.42–2.04), severe physical partner violence (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.09–1.58) and severe physical violence (aOR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.14–1.37) in the 2022 survey compared to the 2013 survey. Conclusions: Forcible rape, physical violence, and physical partner violence were highly prevalent in 2022 and remain significant challenges in Norway. The reported exposure to all three severe violence forms increased among females between 2013 and 2022. These findings call for immediate action and underscore the need for continued governmental efforts toward preventing violence. Given the high prevalence, these efforts should be targeted towards the general population. © The Author(s) 2025.