Dangers have been increased, rising to 1 in 4, in “fragile settings,” together with these with weak establishments, UN peacekeeping forces, or massive numbers of refugees, the report discovered.
UNICEF Government Director Catherine Russell known as sexual violence in opposition to youngsters “a stain on our ethical conscience.”
“It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, typically by somebody the kid is aware of and trusts, in locations the place they need to really feel secure.”
UNICEF mentioned most childhood sexual violence happens throughout adolescence, particularly between ages 14 and 17, and people who undergo it face increased dangers of sexually transmitted ailments, substance abuse and psychological well being points.
“(T)he impression is additional compounded when youngsters delay disclosing their experiences … or preserve the abuse secret altogether,” UNICEF mentioned.
It mentioned elevated funding in knowledge assortment was wanted to seize the complete scale the issue, given persistent knowledge gaps, notably on boys’ experiences.
UNICEF mentioned it based mostly its estimates of women’ and ladies’s experiences on nationally consultant surveys performed between 2010 and 2022 in 120 nations and areas. It mentioned estimates for boys and males have been derived from a broader vary of knowledge sources and utilized some oblique strategies.