More than 370 million girls and women alive today – or 1 in 8 – experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, according to new UNICEF estimates released today.
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The first-ever global and regional estimates on sexual violence against children – published ahead of the International Day of the Girl – reveal the scale of the violation worldwide, especially for adolescent girls, often with lifelong implications.
When ‘non-contact’ forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse are included, the number of girls and women affected rises to 650 million globally – or 1 in 5, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive prevention and support strategies to effectively address all forms of violence and abuse.
“Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe.”
Sexual violence against children is pervasive, cutting across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, the data show. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women affected (22 per cent), followed by 75 million in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (8 per cent), 73 million in Central and Southern Asia (9 per cent), 68 million in Europe and Northern America (14 per cent), 45 million in Latin America and the Caribbean (18 per cent), 29 million in Northern Africa and Western Asia (15 per cent), and 6 million in Oceania (34 per cent). unicef.org
