No fewer than 370 million girls and women have been raped or sexually assaulted worldwide before the age of 18, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Thursday.
The figures came as UNICEF published its first global estimate on sexualised violence against children ahead of the International Day of the Girl on Friday.
The data means that one in eight girls is affected by this form of violence.
If other `non-contact’ forms of sexualised violence, online or verbal violence included, the number of girls and young women affected worldwide rises to 650 million or one in five, UNICEF said.
The situation worsens for those in fragile settings, such as those with weak institutions or many refugees fleeing violence and insecurity.
In these situations, the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in childhood rose to slightly more than one in four.
Boys and young men are also affected by sexual violence, the agency reported.
An estimated 240 to 310 million boys or about one in 11 have experienced rape or sexual assault in their childhood.
According to the data, most sexual violence against minors occur during adolescence, with a significant increase between the ages of 14 and 17.
Sexual violence against children is widespread across all geographical, cultural and economic boundaries, the agency said.
The region with the highest number of victims is sub-Saharan Africa, with 79 million girls and women (22 per cent).
This is followed by 75 million in East and Southeast Asia ( eight per cent), 73 million in Central and South Asia ( nine per cent), and 68 million in Europe and North America (14 per cent).
The data came from nationally representative surveys conducted in 120 countries and territories between 2010 and 2022, UNICEF said.
However, there are gaps in the data, particularly regarding the experiences of boys and non-physical forms of sexual violence.
“Sexual violence against children is 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,’’ UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
Survivors often carried the trauma with them into adulthood.
