NAIROBI, Kenya – About 370 million girls and women worldwide have experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18, according to a new UNICEF report.
The first-ever global estimates of their kind, released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to mark the International Day of the Girl, highlight the disturbing prevalence of sexual violence against minors.
The report, published Thursday, shows that approximately one in eight women and girls has endured sexual abuse during their adolescent years.
It further reveals that a total of 650 million females have been subjected to non-contact forms of sexual violence, including online harassment and verbal abuse.
UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, emphasized the devastating and lasting effects of such violence. “Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience,” Russell said. “It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe.”
The report indicates that most incidents of sexual violence occur between the ages of 14 and 17, with many victims suffering repeated abuse.
Survivors are at a heightened risk of long-term emotional, physical, and psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and challenges forming healthy relationships.
UNICEF also stressed that the issue cuts across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, underscoring its pervasiveness.
Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly affected, with 22% of girls and women—around 79 million—having been subjected to childhood sexual violence.
In Kenya, the situation is similarly grim. A 2019 survey revealed that one in six Kenyan females (15.6%) experienced childhood sexual abuse, and over 60% of those victims faced repeated attacks before the age of 18.
Alarmingly, the report found that 19% of women aged 18 to 24 who were sexually abused as children said their perpetrators were schoolmates.
“The data paints a grim reality for many girls in Kenya who are experiencing sexual violence, even within their own schools, communities, and online. This is unacceptable,” said Shaheen Nilofer, UNICEF Kenya Representative.
She called for the strengthening of child protection systems at the community level, urging for better access to psychosocial support, safe reporting mechanisms, and education for girls to stay safe online and offline.
While girls are disproportionately affected, boys are not exempt from this crisis.
UNICEF estimates that 240 to 310 million boys globally have experienced childhood sexual violence, with numbers rising to 410 to 530 million when non-contact forms of abuse are considered.
UNICEF is now calling for intensified global efforts to combat childhood sexual violence.
Recommendations include changing harmful social and cultural norms, strengthening laws to protect children, ensuring victims can access support services, and improving data collection to monitor progress.
The first-ever global estimates of their kind, released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to mark the International Day of the Girl, highlight the disturbing prevalence of sexual violence against minors.
The report, published Thursday, shows that approximately one in eight women and girls has endured sexual abuse during their adolescent years.
It further reveals that a total of 650 million females have been subjected to non-contact forms of sexual violence, including online harassment and verbal abuse.
UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, emphasized the devastating and lasting effects of such violence. “Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience,” Russell said. “It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe.”
The report indicates that most incidents of sexual violence occur between the ages of 14 and 17, with many victims suffering repeated abuse.
Survivors are at a heightened risk of long-term emotional, physical, and psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and challenges forming healthy relationships.
UNICEF also stressed that the issue cuts across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, underscoring its pervasiveness.
Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly affected, with 22% of girls and women—around 79 million—having been subjected to childhood sexual violence.
In Kenya, the situation is similarly grim. A 2019 survey revealed that one in six Kenyan females (15.6%) experienced childhood sexual abuse, and over 60% of those victims faced repeated attacks before the age of 18.
Alarmingly, the report found that 19% of women aged 18 to 24 who were sexually abused as children said their perpetrators were schoolmates.
“The data paints a grim reality for many girls in Kenya who are experiencing sexual violence, even within their own schools, communities, and online. This is unacceptable,” said Shaheen Nilofer, UNICEF Kenya Representative.
She called for the strengthening of child protection systems at the community level, urging for better access to psychosocial support, safe reporting mechanisms, and education for girls to stay safe online and offline.
While girls are disproportionately affected, boys are not exempt from this crisis.
UNICEF estimates that 240 to 310 million boys globally have experienced childhood sexual violence, with numbers rising to 410 to 530 million when non-contact forms of abuse are considered.
UNICEF is now calling for intensified global efforts to combat childhood sexual violence.
Recommendations include changing harmful social and cultural norms, strengthening laws to protect children, ensuring victims can access support services, and improving data collection to monitor progress.
