Over 79 million girls in Africa sexually assaulted

One in five girls in conflict stricken sub-Saharan countries had experienced sexual assault or rape before turning 18.

Cumulatively, 79 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa have been sexually assaulted between 2010 and 2022.

This is contained in the first-ever global estimate on sexual violence against children published by UNICEF.

Globally, UNICEF estimates that sexual violence has affected some 370 million – or one in eight – girls and young women.

The United Nations children’s agency says sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims followed by 75 million in Eastern and Southeastern Asia, 73 million in Central and Southern Asia, 68 million in Europe and Northern America, 45 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, 29 million in Northern Africa and Western Asia, and 6 million in Oceania.

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“It’s terrifying, it is generations of trauma” said Nankali Maksud, a child violence specialist at UNICEF based in Nairobi, Kenya

Girls who had suffered the trauma of sexual abuse were often unable to learn at school, she added.

The report indicated that the number rises to 650 million, or one in five, when taking into account “non-contact” forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse.

While girls and women were worst affected, 240 to 310 million boys and men, or about one in 11, have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood.

“Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe,” she said.

Numbers were highest in “fragile settings”, including those with weak institutions, where UN peacekeeping forces are present or where there are large numbers of refugees.

“We are witnessing horrific sexual violence in conflict zones, where rape and gender-based violence are often used as weapons of war,” said Russell.

However, the data showed that sexual violence against children is pervasive, cutting across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries.

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