Over 370 million women experience rape, sexual assault before age 18 - Report

More than 370 million girls and women in the world today have experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, a new report has revealed.

The first-ever global and regional estimates by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) state that approximately one out of eight girls and women in the said age bracket have been violated in the adolescent phase.

The UNICEF report published on Thursday, as the world marked the  International Day of the Girl on Friday, also notes that a total of 650 million girls and women have been subjected to ‘non-contact’ sexual violence such as online or verbal abuse.

According to UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, the aftermath of the violence results in physical, emotional and lifelong trauma for most of the victims.

“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," she stated.

The data shows that most childhood sexual violence occurs during adolescence, with a significant spike between the ages of 14 and 17, adding that most victims are more likely to suffer repeated abuse.

"Survivors often carry the trauma of sexual violence into adulthood, facing higher risks of sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, social isolation, and mental health issues like anxiety and depression, as well as challenges in forming healthy relationships," noted the report.

"Evidence shows that the impact is further compounded when children delay disclosing their experiences, sometimes for long periods, or keep the abuse secret altogether."

UNICEF underscores the devastating impacts of sexual abuse on children saying it is pervasive and cuts across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries.

Sub-Saharan Africa is said to be most affected with 22 percent of women (79 million) girls and women affected.

A 2019 survey on Violence Against Children Survey in Kenya shows that one in six females (15.6%) experienced childhood sexual violence, with up to 62.6% of them experiencing it multiple times before the age of 18.

Further, the report details that 19 per cent of females aged between 18 and 24 years who experienced sexual violence before age 18, said childhood perpetrators of the first incident 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.

“We must strengthen an integrated child protection system at the community level, including making sure girls can access support such as clinical and psychosocial services, and a safe reporting mechanism. Most importantly, we must equip girls with the knowledge and skills to stay safe online and offline."

The report identifies most affected groups to be the children in fragile settings such as those with weak institutions, UN peacekeeping forces, or refugees fleeing due to political or security crises.

At the same time, despite most sexual abuse affecting girls, UNICEF says boys and men are also affected, with an estimated one in every 11 (240 to 310 million) during childhood - the number rises to between 410 and 530 million when non-contact forms are included.  

The organization has since appealed for intensified global action to combat childhood sexual violence in a bid to build a safer future for children worldwide.

Among the ways to combat sexual violence include changing social and cultural norms which allow the ill, equipping every child with accurate, accessible, and age-appropriate information to create sexual abuse awareness, ensuring victims access help, strengthening laws to protect children from violence, and building better national data systems to monitor progress.