One in eight girls and women raped or sexually assaulted before age 18, UNICEF says

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - More than 370 million girls and women alive today, or one in every eight worldwide, experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, the United Nations children's agency said on Wednesday.

The number rises to 650 million, or one in five, when taking into account "non-contact" forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse, UNICEF reported, in what it called the first global survey of the problem.

The report, opens new tab said that while girls and women were worst affected, 240 to 310 million boys and men, or around 1 in 11, have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood.

"The scale of this human rights violation is overwhelming, and it's been hard to fully grasp because of stigma, challenges in measurement, and limited investment in data collection," UNICEF said in releasing the report.

It comes ahead of an inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, opens new tab in Colombia next month.

UNICEF said its findings highlight the urgent need for intensified global action, including by strengthening laws and helping children recognize and report sexual violence.

UNICEF said sexual violence cuts across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries, but Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims, with 79 million girls and women, or 22 per cent affected. Eastern and South-Eastern Asia follow with 75 million, or 8 percent.

In its data for women and girls, UNICEF estimated 73 million, or 9 percent, were affected in Central and Southern Asia; 68 million, or 14 percent, in Europe and Northern America; 45 million, or 18 percent, in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 29 million, or 15 per cent, in Northern Africa and Western Asia.

Oceania, with 6 million, had the highest number affected by percentage, at 34 per cent.

Risks were higher, rising to 1 in 4, in "fragile settings," including those with weak institutions, U.N. peacekeeping forces, or large numbers of refugees, the report found.