Key Takeaways
- Over 370 million girls and women have been subjected to sexual violence before age 18, according to the UNICEF report.
- Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women affected.
- The UNICEF report highlights the alarming number of girls and women affected by sexual violence worldwide.
United Nations: More than 370 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to sexual violence before age 18, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday.
“More than 370 million girls and women alive today – or 1 in 8 – experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18,” the organisation said in a statement on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl.
If “non-contact” forms of sexual violence, such as online violence or verbal abuse, are included, the number of girls and women affected worldwide will be 650 million, or one in five, the statement read.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women affected. This is followed by East and South-East Asia with 75 million victims, and Central and South Asia with 73 million victims.
At the same time, an estimated 240 to 310 million boys and men – or about one in 11 – have been victims of rape or sexual abuse as children, the organisation added. This number rises to 410 to 530 million if “non-contact” forms of abuse are included.
