UNICEF: 370M Girls, Women Worldwide Victimised By Childhood Sexual Assault

More than 370 million girls and women alive today – or one in eight – experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, according to new UNICEF estimates released yesterday.

The first-ever global and regional estimates on sexual violence against children – published ahead of the International Day of the Girl – reveal the scale of the violation worldwide, especially for adolescent girls, often with lifelong implications.

When ‘non-contact’ forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse are included, the number of girls and women affected rises to 650 million globally – or one in five, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive prevention and support strategies to effectively address all forms of violence and abuse.

For Fiji, recent statistics revealed a disturbing rise in sexual offences committed against minors, with 74 victims under the age of 18 reported so far this year.

These cases include attempted rape, rape, indecent assault, defilement, and sexual assault.

Statistics released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) for the month of September stated that there were 10 people charged with a total of 25 counts of sexual offences in September.

The ODPP said last month there were 10 victims of whom eight victims were under the age of 18 years.

In an earlier interview, Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran said parents were prioritising other things than their children.

Ms Kiran also raised concern over parent’s excessive involvement in social events while children are being left behind.

“It’s unbelievable the amount of money that is spent generally in the social events and then the same parents and then say there’s not enough food to eat. So there has to be a reprioritisation of how do we manage a social life and how do we manage our children,” Ms Kiran said.

“Now we are finding that with squatters and with urbanisation, there’s not enough people looking at or looking after our children when we are working. And it is not easy for many of the families to make sure that the child is protected. We are looking and talking about programmes that need to be developed for child care between after school till parents come home.

“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.”

Sexual violence against children is pervasive, cutting across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, the data show.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women affected (22 per cent), followed by 75 million in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (8 per cent), 73 million in Central and Southern Asia (9 per cent), 68 million in Europe and Northern America (14 per cent), 45 million in Latin America and the Caribbean (18 per cent), 29 million in Northern Africa and Western Asia (15 per cent), and six million in Oceania (34 per cent).

“Children in fragile settings are especially vulnerable to sexual violence,” said Ms Russell.

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

According to the data, most childhood sexual violence occurs during adolescence, with a significant spike between ages 14 and 17.

Studies show that children who experience sexual violence are more likely to suffer repeated abuse. Implementing targeted interventions during adolescence is crucial to breaking this cycle and mitigating the long-term impacts of such trauma.

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.

UNICEF says as government leaders and civil society, including activists, survivors, and young people, prepare to meet at the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Violence Against Children in Colombia next month, the data highlight the urgent need for intensified global action to combat childhood sexual violence and build a safer future for children worldwide by:

•  Challenging and changing social and cultural norms that allow sexual violence to occur and discourage children from seeking help.
•  Equipping every child with accurate, accessible, and age-appropriate information that empowers them to recognise and report sexual violence.
•   Ensuring that every child victim and survivor has access to services that support justice and healing and reduce the risk of further harm.
•  Strengthening laws and regulations to protect children from all forms of sexual violence, including in organisations that work with children, and investing in the people, resources, and systems needed to implement them.
•   Building better national data systems to monitor progress and ensure accountability by implementing international standards like the International Classification of Violence against Children.

Feedback: inoke.rabonu@fijisun.com.fj