Nearly a quarter of men in some parts of Asia have admitted to committing rape, a report on sexual violence has found.
The 24 per cent figure took in rape committed against partners, with one in 10 men admitting to raping a woman who was not their partner.
Just over ten thousand men from six countries took part in the UN-funded survey, with the findings of both studies published in the Lancet Global Health journal on Tuesday.
The countries were Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka.
The word "rape" was not used, Bloomberg reports, adding the men were asked indirect questions such as, "Have you ever forced a woman who was not your wife or girlfriend at the time to have sex"
"It's clear violence against women is far more widespread in the general population than we thought," Rachel Jewkes of South Africa's Medical Research Council, which led the studies, told the Associated Press.
The figures for rape varied from country to country, with 11 per cent of men in Bangladesh saying they had committed rape, compared to 60 per cent in Papua New Guinea.
Of rape against non-partners, the report states: "Prevention of rape is essential, and interventions must focus on childhood and adolescence, and address culturally rooted male gender socialisation and power relations, abuse in childhood and poverty." (Read the full report here.)
In reference to rapes carried out against partners, it says: "Interventions should address gender socialisation and power relations... [and be] tailored to respond to the specific patterns of violence in various contexts. Physical and sexual partner violence might need to be addressed in different ways." (Read the full report here.)
“The challenge is now to turn evidence into action, to create a safer future for the next generation of women and girls,” a group of researchers led by Michele Decker of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said in a statement.