A systematic review of the global and regional estimates of the prevalence of sexual violence against children

Sexual violence against children (SVAC) is a critical global public health issue. Nonetheless, the availability of robust and comparable global and regional prevalence estimates remains limited. To address this gap, we aimed to provide current and refined estimates of SVAC to enhance understanding of its magnitude worldwide.

This study found that in 2024 alone, an estimated 72.6 million girls and 60.9 million boys experienced at least one form of sexual violence, including 43.3 million girls and 34.8 million boys subjected to rape or sexual assault.

These findings highlight the alarming global burden of SVAC and the urgent need for evidence-based, multi-sectoral prevention strategies and intervention programmes to safeguard children worldwide. More well-designed research using a standardized approach to data collection is also needed, especially in regions underrepresented by the current data.