One in eight girls and women will be raped or sexually abused before the age of 18: Unicef

NEW YORK – More than 370 million girls and women alive today, or one in eight worldwide, have experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, the United Nations Children’s Fund said Oct. 9.

The number rises to 650 million, or a fifth, when “contact” forms of sexual violence such as online or verbal violence are taken into account, Unicef ​​reported in what it called the first global survey on the problem.

The report states that while girls and women are most affected, 240 to 310 million boys and men, or about one in eleven, also experienced rape or sexual assault in their childhood.

“The scale of this human rights violation is overwhelming and difficult to grasp due to stigma, measurement challenges and limited investment in data collection,” Unicef ​​said in releasing the report.

It comes ahead of a first global ministerial conference on ending violence against children, which will take place in Colombia in November.

Unicef ​​said its findings underscore the urgent need for increased global action, including by strengthening laws and helping children identify and report sexual violence.

It added that sexual violence crosses geographical, cultural and economic boundaries, but most victims are in sub-Saharan Africa, where 79 million girls and women, or 22 percent, are affected. East and Southeast Asia follow with 75 million or 8 percent.

In its data for women and girls, Unicef ​​estimated that 73 million, or 9 percent, were affected in Central and South Asia; 68 million, or 14 percent, in Europe and North America; 45 million, or 18 percent, in Latin America and the Caribbean; and 29 million, or 15 percent, in North Africa and West Asia.

At 6 million, Oceania was the most affected in percentage terms at 34 percent.

In “fragile environments,” including those with weak institutions, UN peacekeepers or large numbers of refugees, the risks were higher, rising to a quarter, the report said.

UNICEF chief executive Catherine Russell described sexual violence against children as “a stain on our moral conscience”.

“It causes deep and lasting trauma, often at the hands of someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe,” she said.

Unicef ​​said most childhood sexual violence occurs in adolescence, particularly between the ages of 14 and 17, and those who suffer it are at higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse and mental health problems.

“The impact is made even worse when children do not disclose their experiences… or keep the abuse completely secret,” Unicef ​​said.

Given the persistent data gaps, particularly on boys’ experiences, greater investment in data collection is needed to fully understand the problem.

Unicef ​​said it based its estimates of the experiences of girls and women on nationally representative surveys conducted in 120 countries and territories between 2010 and 2022. It said the estimates for boys and men were derived from a broader range of data sources and the use of some indirect methods. REUTERS