More than 370 million women and girls around the world (one in eight) have been raped or sexually assaulted when they were minors, according to a UNICEF study published this Thursday on the occasion of the International Day of the girl. If we count forms of sexual violence that do not include direct contact, 650 million women and girls have been victims of abuse verbally or online (one in five), says the organization.
According to the study, most sexual violence against children occurs during adolescence, with a significant peak between 14 and 17 years old. UNICEF notes that carrying out “specific interventions” during this stage of life is “crucial” to ending abuse and mitigating its long-term effects, which often extend into adulthood and lead to an increased risk of sexual transmission or drug abuse. abuse.
The women most affected by sexual violence are found in sub-Saharan Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and Central and South Asia.
These abuses also generate among the victims social isolation, mental health problems such as anxiety and depression or difficulty establishing healthy relationships, consequences that are worsened when children delay telling about their experiences or keep them secret. Additionally, minors who experience this type of violence are more likely to experience more abuse in the future, the study says.
CEO Catherine Russell highlights that children in fragile environments “are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence“, and is concerned about the existence of “horrific” sexual violence in conflict zones, “where rape and gender-based violence are often used as weapons of war”.
By region, those most affected by sexual violence are sub-Saharan Africa (79 million girls and women victims, 22%), East and Southeast Asia (75 million, 8%) and Central and South Asia (73 million, 9%). This is followed by Europe and North America (68 million, 14%), Latin America and the Caribbean (45 million, 18%), North Africa and Western Asia (29 million, 15%). ) and Oceania (6 million, 34%). ).
Boys and men also suffer from this violence
On the other hand, the organization emphasizes that children and men also suffer this abuse, even if it is not as well documented as that of women. Thus, it is estimated that between 240 and 310 million boys and men (one in eleven) have suffered rape or sexual assault during their childhood, and if we include forms of violence without direct contact, this figure rises to a range between 410 and 310 million. 530 million men and boys.
Given the scarcity of studies on the incidence of sexual violence in this sector of the population, Unicef calls for greater investment in data collection to “capture the full extent of sexual violence” against them.
