UNICEF: Over 370 million girls have faced sexual violence

The issue of sexual violence cuts across geographic, economic, and cultural boundaries, a new UNICEF report has found. If verbal and online abuse are taken into account, the number rises to 650 million victims.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released a report on Thursday which showed that one in eight girls is affected by rape or sexual assault before the age of 18. This amounts to some 370 million girls worldwide.

"Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement. "It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe."

UNICEF's report also highlighted the issue of what is called "non-contact" forms of sexual violence, which includes online and verbal abuse. When this kind of violence is taken into account, the number of girls affected rises to 650 million, or one in five.

Boys also targeted

The report found that the issue cuts across all geographic, economic, and cultural boundaries. Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest number of victims with 79 million girls affected, followed by 75 million in East and Southeast Asia, and then 68 million in Europe and North America.

Sexual violence is particularly high, the study said, in areas where security is fragile.

Boys are also targeted, UNICEF reported. About one in 11, or between 240 million to 310 million, boys experience rape or sexual assault during their childhood.

To complete their report, UNICEF pulled data from 120 countries carried out between 2010 and 2022. 

es/sms (dpa, Reuters)