Wednesday, 22 January, 2025
More than 370 million girls and women currently alive—equivalent to one in every eight globally—experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18, the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) reported on Wednesday.
This figure rises to 650 million, or one in five, when including "non-contact" forms of sexual violence, such as online harassment or verbal abuse, according to UNICEF's report, which it described as the first global survey of its kind.
The report said that while girls and women were worst affected, 240 to 310 million boys and men, or around 1 in 11, have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood.
"The scale of this human rights violation is overwhelming, and it's been hard to fully grasp because of stigma, challenges in measurement, and limited investment in data collection," UNICEF said in releasing the report.
It comes ahead of an inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Colombia next month.
UNICEF said its findings highlight the urgent need for intensified global action, including strengthening laws and helping children recognise and report sexual violence.
UNICEF said sexual violence cuts across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, but Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women, or 22 per cent affected. Eastern and South-Eastern Asia follow with 75 million, or 8 percent.
In its data for women and girls, UNICEF estimated 73 million, or 9 per cent, were affected in Central and Southern Asia; 68 million, or 14 per cent, in Europe and Northern America; 45 million, or 18 per cent, in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 29 million, or 15 per cent, in Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Oceania, with 6 million affected individuals, had the highest percentage, at 34 percent.
The risks were even higher in "fragile settings," such as those with weak institutions, UN peacekeeping forces, or large refugee populations, where the rate rose to 1 in 4, according to the report.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell described sexual violence against children as "a stain on our moral conscience."
"It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe," she stated.
UNICEF highlighted that most childhood sexual violence occurs during adolescence, particularly between the ages of 14 and 17. Those who experience it are at greater risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, and developing mental health issues.
"The impact is further compounded when children delay disclosing their experiences or keep the abuse secret altogether," UNICEF noted.
The agency emphasized the need for increased investment in data collection to fully understand the scale of the problem, citing persistent data gaps, particularly regarding boys' experiences.
UNICEF said it based its estimates of girls' and women’s experiences on nationally representative surveys conducted between 2010 and 2022 in 120 countries and areas. It said estimates for boys and men were derived from a broader range of data sources and applied some indirect methods.
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More than 370 million girls and women currently alive—equivalent to one in every eight globally—experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18, the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) reported on Wednesday.
This figure rises to 650 million, or one in five, when including "non-contact" forms of sexual violence, such as online harassment or verbal abuse, according to UNICEF's report, which it described as the first global survey of its kind.
The report said that while girls and women were worst affected, 240 to 310 million boys and men, or around 1 in 11, have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood.
"The scale of this human rights violation is overwhelming, and it's been hard to fully grasp because of stigma, challenges in measurement, and limited investment in data collection," UNICEF said in releasing the report.
It comes ahead of an inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Colombia next month.
UNICEF said its findings highlight the urgent need for intensified global action, including strengthening laws and helping children recognise and report sexual violence.
UNICEF said sexual violence cuts across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, but Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women, or 22 per cent affected. Eastern and South-Eastern Asia follow with 75 million, or 8 percent.
In its data for women and girls, UNICEF estimated 73 million, or 9 per cent, were affected in Central and Southern Asia; 68 million, or 14 per cent, in Europe and Northern America; 45 million, or 18 per cent, in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 29 million, or 15 per cent, in Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Oceania, with 6 million affected individuals, had the highest percentage, at 34 percent.
The risks were even higher in "fragile settings," such as those with weak institutions, UN peacekeeping forces, or large refugee populations, where the rate rose to 1 in 4, according to the report.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell described sexual violence against children as "a stain on our moral conscience."
"It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe," she stated.
UNICEF highlighted that most childhood sexual violence occurs during adolescence, particularly between the ages of 14 and 17. Those who experience it are at greater risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, and developing mental health issues.
"The impact is further compounded when children delay disclosing their experiences or keep the abuse secret altogether," UNICEF noted.
The agency emphasized the need for increased investment in data collection to fully understand the scale of the problem, citing persistent data gaps, particularly regarding boys' experiences.
UNICEF said it based its estimates of girls' and women’s experiences on nationally representative surveys conducted between 2010 and 2022 in 120 countries and areas. It said estimates for boys and men were derived from a broader range of data sources and applied some indirect methods.
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