Sexual violence

Sexual violence against a child refers to “Any deliberate, unwanted and non-essential act of a sexual nature, either completed or attempted, that is perpetrated against a child, including for exploitative purposes, and that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, pain or psychological suffering.”[1] For the purposes of generating global and regional estimates, sexual violence was broadly categorized into two types – contact sexual violence (including rape and sexual assault) and non-contact sexual violence –aligned with the categories outlined in the International Classification of Violence against Children.

[1] United Nations Children’s Fund, International Classification of Violence against Children, UNICEF, New York, 2023.

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The global and regional figures are based on a broad pool of available data sources and the application of adjustments to align them (as far as possible) with a common definition and set of parameters. When interpreting the estimates, it is critical to keep in mind that they reflect an effort to generate figures that are as robust as possible at this moment in time, based on available country-level data.

Globally, 650 million (or 1 in 5) girls and women alive today have been subjected to sexual violence as children. This includes more than 370 million (or 1 in 8) who have experienced rape or sexual assault in childhood

The largest number of rape and sexual assault victims is found in some of the most populous regions – namely sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, and Central and Southern Asia

Globally, between 410 and 530 million (or around 1 in 7) boys and men alive today have been subjected to sexual violence in childhood. This includes 240 to 310 million (or around 1 in 11) who have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood

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