Over 79 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa raped, sexually assaulted: UN

UNICEF report finds more than 370 million girls worldwide have faced sexual violence before the age of 18.

The United Nations children’s agency says one in eight girls and young women across the world have endured rape and sexual violence, with the highest number of victims recorded in sub-Saharan Africa.

UNICEF published its first-ever global estimate on sexual violence against children, revealing that 79 million girls – one in five – in sub-Saharan countries hit by conflict and insecurity had experienced sexual assault or rape before turning 18.

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

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

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

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, according to the agency’s report published on Wednesday.

The report said that 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