1 in 5 women, 1 in 7 men are victims of childhood sexual violence
Nearly one in five women and one in seven men worldwide experienced sexual violence before they turned 18, a new global analysis shows.
Rates of sexual violence during childhood were highest in South Asia for women and in sub-Saharan Africa for men – but no region has been spared from the 'pervasive health and human rights issue,' according to the research published on Thursday in The Lancet medical journal.
People who survive sexual violence in their youth are at higher risk of health issues later in life, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and chronic conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The study, which included data from 204 countries, is one of the most comprehensive assessments to date on childhood sexual violence.
The researchers defined childhood sexual violence as having ever been physically forced or coerced into unwanted sex or sexual contact – such as fondling or other sexual touching – before the age of 18.
They did not include online abuse or exploitation, or consider the relationship between victim and perpetrator.
Overall, an estimated 18.9 per cent of women and 14.8 per cent of men were subjected to sexual violence before their 18th birthday, the report found.
'Sexual violence against children is a widespread human rights and public health issue, and the world is clearly failing to end it,' said Dr Emmanuela Gakidou, a senior author of the study and a professor at the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
In Europe, childhood sexual violence rates for women ranged from 6.9 per cent in Montenegro to 29.7 per cent in the Netherlands.
For men, they ranged from 9.7 per cent in Belgium to 21 per cent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the estimates show.
But researchers said the actual figures could be much higher because child sexual abuse is often under-reported.
Jaya Dantas, a professor of international health at Curtin University in Australia who was not involved with the study, called the findings 'alarming' in a statement.
She called for 'resources and funding to develop health systems that support surveillance in all countries'.
The study also sheds light on the time period when children may be at higher risk.
For example, among women ages 25 or younger who had experienced sexual violence in childhood, 41.6 per cent were victimised before they turned 16.
Meanwhile, 7.7 were victimised before they turned 12, the study found.
'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,' Gakidou said.
Notably, the study looked at data from 1990 to 2023 and found relatively little change in sexual violence rates over the decades.
But the variation at the regional and country levels indicates 'there are risk and protective factors for sexual violence,' said María Pilar Matud Aznar, a professor at the University of La Laguna in Spain who was not involved with the study.
Understanding those factors, she said in a statement, could help people 'implement programs and policies to prevent and eradicate such violence'.
US President Donald Trump has tapped Dr Casey Means, a physician-turned-wellness influencer with close ties to health department chief Robert F Kennedy Jr, as his nominee for the influential health post of US surgeon general.
Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday that Means has "impeccable 'MAHA' credentials" – referring to the "Make America Healthy Again" slogan – and that she will work to eradicate chronic disease and improve the health and well-being of Americans.
The US surgeon general, considered the nation's doctor, oversees 6,000 public health workers and can issue advisories that warn of public health threats, but does not set policy.
Means and her brother, former lobbyist Calley Means, served as key advisers to Kennedy's longshot 2024 presidential bid and helped broker his endorsement of Trump last summer.
Casey Means trained as a doctor but has no government experience and dropped out of her surgical residency programme, saying she became disillusioned with traditional medicine.
She founded a health tech company, Levels, that helps users track blood sugar and other metrics. She also makes money from dietary supplements, creams, teas, and other products sponsored on her social media accounts.
Means has built an online following by criticising the medical establishment and promoting natural foods and lifestyle changes to reverse obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.
She has also linked changes in diet and lifestyle to a raft of conditions, including infertility, Alzheimer's, depression, and erectile dysfunction.
Means has mostly steered clear of Kennedy's controversial and debunked views on vaccines.
But on her website, she has called for more investigation into their safety and recommends making it easier for patients to sue drugmakers in the event of vaccine injuries.
If confirmed as surgeon general, Means would be tasked with helping promote Kennedy's sprawling MAHA agenda, which calls for removing thousands of additives and chemicals from US foods, rooting out conflicts of interest at federal agencies, and incentivising healthier foods in school lunches and other nutrition programmes.
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