Nearly one in five women and one in seven men globally experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 years, The Lancet study estimates.
The study also identified significant region and country-level differences in the rate of sexual violence in under 18’s, with the USA estimates being 27.5% of women and 16.1% of men; UK estimates being 24.4% of women and 16.5% of men, and estimates for India being 30.8% of women and 13.5% of men.
Professor Joht Singh Chandan, from University of Birmingham’s School of Health Sciences, coauthored the paper with colleagues from around the world. The systematic review was led by University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation using the newest Global Burden of Disease research. Professor Chandan’s role as Co-Director of the NIHR Global Health Group on Violence against Women and Children and epidemiology co-lead for the Lancet Commission on Violence Against Women and Children were key to his contributions.
These findings shine a stark light on a silent crisis affecting millions of children across the globe. Sexual violence against children is not only a profound violation of human rights—it also inflicts lifelong health, social, and psychological consequences on survivors and represents a generational economic disaster for countries.
By providing the most comprehensive investigation of the prevalence of sexual violence against children (SVAC) covering 204 locations by ages and sex from 1990 to 2023, while accounting for when people were first exposed to such violence., this study equips policymakers with the evidence needed to take urgent, coordinated action.
“Sexual violence against children is a widespread human rights and public health issue, and the world is clearly failing to end it. The proportion of survivors facing sexual abuse at such a young age is deeply concerning, and we need urgent action from all countries to improve laws, policies, and the ways experts respond,” said senior author and epidemiology co-lead for the Lancet Commission, Prof Emmanuela Gakidou, Professor at IHME.
Accurate global estimates of SVAC rates are important for targeted prevention and advocacy efforts, yet existing studies present estimates for a limited number of countries and are hindered by data sparsity and measurement challenges.
“Survivors of sexual violence against children have a higher risk of developing depression, anxiety, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, and even asthma. SVAC can also impact their social development, educational outcome, and economic achievement, underscoring the urgent need for effective prevention measures and responsive support systems to mitigate these lifelong consequences.” said co-author Dr. Luisa Flor, Assistant Professor at IHME.
The results highlight the need to develop routine surveillance of SVAC, and for health systems and societies to put more services and systems in place to support survivors of SVAC for the rest of their lives. Establishing standardised best practices for tracking SVAC would help experts identify the barriers to disclosure, reporting, and care and create better child protection policies. The authors call for governmental, non-governmental organisations, and society more widely, to urgently and significantly commit more resources to supporting survivors and to creating childhoods free of sexual violence.
Prevalence of sexual violence against children and age at first exposure: a global analysis by location, age, and sex (1990–2023) Cagney, Jack et al. The Lancet, Volume 0, Issue 0
Clinical Professor of Public Health
Professor Chandan is a Clinical Professor of Public Health, based in the Department of Applied Health Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK.
