Sexual violence against children… ENOUGH.
Today is the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence.
Totally awful that we need a day to remind ourselves that child sexual exploitation, abuse and violence, exist — and how severe the impact on children, especially during times of crisis.
And yet, not only does this exist, it’s far worse than we can imagine. We’re living in a world where women and girls are vulnerable even in times of so-called peace. The reality is that there is NEVER any peace for women and girls from sexual violence. Nope. Nowhere.
Now add conflict. Conflict means women and girls are increasingly vulnerable to sexual exploitation, abuse and violence. More than 170 armed conflicts were recorded in 2023 directly affecting approximately 612 million women and girls — such as those living through the genocide in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, the DRC, Haiti, the list goes on. Recent data shows that conflict-related sexual violence has increased by 50%. More than 370 million girls and women alive today — or 1 in 8 — experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18. And those are estimates released by UNICEF in October 2024. Last month!
Sexual violence against children during conflict is one of the six grave violations identified and condemned by the UN Security Council. But we’re not doing enough to address it…
The thing is, it’s so common. Sexual violence in conflict can be a war tactic committed with an intentional purpose, an act tolerated by leaders but not specifically ordered, or independently committed by individuals who seek to abuse women and girls. Individuals meaning men. Because more often than not, the perpetrators are men. And adolescent boys.
This doesn’t just happen in war. Natural disasters are sites of violence also, including impacts of the climate crisis. Around 1 billion children are at extremely high risk of being affected by the climate crisis. resulting in higher risk of exploitation and abuse. That’s because the social fabric and norms are often shattered post-disaster. Whatever safety nets, systems, support, and services that used to exist are now no more. Families face severe economic stress, as well as insecure shelter and living conditions, leading to a much higher risk of violence and abuse and exploitation against children.
For example in 2023, the Morocco earthquake killed 3000 and displaced millions. Families lost homes, income, land. And young girls were targeted by outsiders preying on this vulnerable situation, offering them money, stability, whatever they needed, but really planning to traffic, abuse, or forcibly marry them. Social media worsens the reach of exploitation, with men posting photos of the girls and further exploiting them to predators online. Families are more likely to accept girl-child marriage when in vulnerable circumstances as they need economic stability and support. And some families feel that this is a way to protect the girls — rather than leave them vulnerable.
I’m gonna keep saying it. This is more common than we think.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by conflict-related sexual violence, accounting for more than 95% of the total of reported cases. When this is perpetrated against children — girls are 98% of the survivors. When ‘non-contact’ forms of sexual violence such as online or verbal abuse are included, the number of girls and women affected rises to 650 million globally — or 1 in 5. One in five.
And these are just the numbers we KNOW!
Even in countries with high-functioning systems, support, services, legislation — this still goes unreported. Even in peaceful contexts, around 80% of sexual assaults go unreported. Meaning, the numbers we know vastly underestimate the reality. Meaning, we’re not reaching those in need. We’re not even AWARE of them.
This is a massive — and invisible — risk for women and girls. Why?! Even on a “normal day,” there’s shame, blame, lack of access to justice, and a tendency to revictimize survivors. This is true EVERYWHERE. Now add conflict, with its many additional challenges: lack of systems to support and report, the stigma and fear of retaliation, and lack of services for survivors — especially children and adolescents. Sexual violence against children in conflict mostly goes underreported.
Let’s use Palestine as an example. As a result of the ongoing genocide, women and children make up around 70% of the death toll. More children have been killed in Gaza in one year than in 4 years of conflicts worldwide. A group called Sawa runs a hotline for remote counseling and reporting of sexual exploitation and abuse in Palestine. They’ve had 75,000 sessions since October 7, 2023 — and 8,000 sessions in the last month. The most common mental health topics for girls last month were: bombings, displacement, inability to move, fear and anxiety, and grief. The truth is, we have no idea of the mental health toll of this genocide. It will take generations.
Meanwhile, many Palestinian children and adolescents are held in Israeli prisons and abused without restraint. Firas, a teenager, said: “The younger children were really scared and kept crying.. I asked the prison guard to allow me to stay with them, [and] I was violently beaten.” Qusay, another teenager, said: “…they took everything. In the winter, they opened the windows so we would feel cold. One child prisoner had a severe rash…. The guard said, ‘Call me back when he’s dead’.” In and out of prisons, women and girls are being raped — and many others threatened with sexual violence.
And yes — this was before October 7! Palestinian women are often forced to strip in front of male Israeli soldiers to be aggressively searched. Photos of these women have been posted online. And we’ve all seen the photos across social media showing Israeli soldiers dehumanizing Palestinians by mocking and wearing Palestinian women’s underwear in the homes they have destroyed. It’s sick. Predictably, Israeli leaders rush to defend their own troops because “Everything is legitimate in the fight against Hamas.” And this is nowhere near ending.
And elsewhere…
After 5 million Ukrainians fled their country after Russia’s invasion, pimps were waiting at borders in Poland, seeing this inflow of refugees as an ‘opportunity’ to exploit them in their time of crisis.
On the day after the Nepal earthquake in 2015, Indian traffickers crossed the border to kidnap girls as young as 9 to sell them into brothels. That’s because virgins have “higher value.”
A woman refugee from Eritrea was tortured, raped, and beaten by smugglers in Libya for nearly 2 years. She said: “I can’t handle the memory of what I experienced in Libya, I get very stressed sometimes because of what I went through. They did terrible things. They would beat us with rubber pipes and rape the women in the open or under cars…”
A 17 year old girl in Darfur said: “The soldiers came into my home and pointed a gun at me. They told me not to scream or say anything — then they began to take off my clothes. One soldier held the gun while the other raped me, and then they took turns.
There are a million stories like this. I know. I’ve worked in countries in crisis for two decades. Here’s what that looks like: aside from the imaginable death, displacement, destruction, there are masses of people on the move, continued violence and fear, new forms of violence taking place in conflict and in post-conflict. And the destruction of any pre-existing support services — health facilities, shelters and safe spaces, NGO offices. And severely restricted humanitarian aid — and challenges with access. And specific risks for women and girls — and often dangers for women first responders and human rights defenders. You get the picture…
And then there’s the risk of women and girls being sexually exploited by those who are supposed to be there to help. Meaning, our mandate is violated, trust is eroded, and no one is seen as “safe.” I’ve seen this everywhere… in negotiation for food, shelter, safety, even to charge their cell phones. We saw this during the COVID pandemic all around the world, women and girls exploited for the most basic services or support — the stuff that is supposed to be free. But in those situations, without protections, support, and alternatives, we’d all do the same thing. Meaning, whatever it takes to survive. The challenge for us is to do as much as we can so women and girls are never put in these situations.
And in so-called “post-conflict” — new forms of violence and exploitation are created. Meaning that political peace does not bring peace for women.
Why does all this keep happening!?
Analysis by Save the Children shows that the number of children at risk of sexual violence committed by conflict actors is ten times higher today than in 1990. Ten times! International law on sexual violence and exploitation in conflict is not enough to protect because enforcement of existing provisions is weak. And prevention initiatives aren’t doing enough. Generally, only 1 out of 10 prevention initiatives specifically target men and boys despite making up over 90% of offenders.
We need to improve support — and to reach the girls and women who are falling through the cracks. The reality is this is almost universally perpetrated against women and girls — and it’s much more common than we think. So why aren’t we doing enough about it?
It’s “too hard,” people say. The immediate tendency is to help with visible injuries, and provide food, water, and medical aid leaving sexual abuse trauma and exploitation pushed down the list of priorities. I can tell you from experience that it is often discussed but seldom funded in the way that it deserves. This is not a short-term or quick-fix thing. It requires sustained effort and energy — and resources. We can imagine what these crimes do to women and girls — and to their families, communities, and countries. We can’t let this continue.
So what can we do?
Believe survivors. Know that this is happening without having “proof” — and act accordingly. This is a cross-cutting issue — everyone needs to be involved in prevention, protection, support, referral, response. Make sure you know what exists and where to send people who seek support. Strengthen support and services by working through local organizations already working on these issues. For example, ensuring that children who are exposed to violence can access effective emergency care and receive appropriate psychosocial support. Identify or create safe environments — also identify “hot spots” for violence and address causes through interventions designed with communities. Promote education and life skills and social skills training — including on women’s rights and gender equality. And income and economic strengthening. And that’s just the short list!
Over the longer-term, we must implement and enforce laws to put a stop to this. This is harder work, surely, but it must be done in parallel with emergency response or violence will continue with impunity — and there will be no hope for sustainable prevention. We also need to work to change norms and values — for instance the stuff that condones sexual abuse of girls or aggressive behavior among boys. That’s rampant.
Let me end on this note:
We are not talking about “other countries over there” or “other people” — we are talking about things that happen right here, right now, right where we are. Everywhere. Wherever I am. Wherever you are. Yup.
For instance in the US right now, immediately following the election of Trump, his supporters transformed the feminist and abortion rights slogan “My body, my choice” into “YOUR body, my choice” — and it’s going viral online. Meaning, this is a direct attack on women’s autonomy, and, at worst, a threat of rape. Rape threats and other sexist posts are rampant after the election — and will only get worse.
This is the most common and best hidden crime. Women and girls deserve to live lives that are full and free and safe. We need to make that happen.
*Thanks to Olivia Hooper and Kit Nicholson for all the grim statistics.
*For more on global women’s rights, go here: www.LinaAbiRafeh.com and Join the Movement to receive my Feminist Activist Firestarter and monthly newsletter filled with important stuff.
