"Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement. "It inflicts deep and lasting trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe."
The issue of sexual violence cuts across all geographic, economic, and cultural boundaries. Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest number of victims with 79 million girls affected.
When 'non-contact' forms of sexual violence are included, the number of affected girls rises to 650 million, or one in five, showing the widespread nature of this issue.
The report found that boys are also targeted, with about one in 11 boys, or between 240 million to 310 million, experiencing rape or sexual assault during their childhood.
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