Nearly a third (30.8%) of women in India experienced sexual violence before the age of 18, far above the global average of 18.9%, estimates a new analysis published in The Lancet that highlights the extremely high prevalence of sexual violence against children (SVAC) across the globe.
One in seven men (14.8%) globally, and about 13.5% of Indian men also experienced sexual violence before they reached adulthood, according to the study.
“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,” read the paper.
The case definition of SVAC used in this study is having experienced intercourse or other contact sexual violence (i.e, fondling and other sexual touching) before the age of 18 years, in which the contact was unwanted (i.e, physically forced or coerced). The authors, however, mention that the study does not include online abuse or exploitation.
SVAC is a critical public health and human rights issue, and it contributes to severe long-term consequences for those affected. Survivors face heightened risks of major depressive disorder, anxiety, substance use, long-term health conditions such as asthma and sexually transmitted infections, and indirect impacts such as limited individual development, hindering both educational attainment and economic achievement, said the researchers in the paper.
Accurate global estimates of SVAC rates are important for targeted efforts, yet existing studies present estimates for a limited number of countries and are hindered by data sparsity and measurement challenges, they added.
According to the paper, the current study is one of the first to estimate the prevalence of SVAC for 204 countries by age and sex from 1990 to 2023.
“The study found the highest average rates of sexual violence were recorded in south Asia for women, with rates ranging from 9.3% in Bangladesh to 30.8% in India, while sub-Saharan Africa had the highest rates among men, varying from 7.9% in Zimbabwe to 28.3% in Côte d’Ivoire,” the paper read.
The researchers said that, globally, these estimates remained relatively stable since 1990, with slight variations at the country and regional levels. They also mentioned that they found the first experience of sexual violence among adolescents and young people occurred before the age of 18 years for 67·3% of female and 71·9% of male survivors.
The authors highlight the difficulty in distinguishing whether these differences in rates of sexual violence between countries and regions are due to true differences in prevalence or are instead driven by different levels of reporting.
As a possible solution, the authors said their 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 the survivors for the rest of their lives. The authors called for governmental, non-governmental organisations, and society more widely, to urgently commit more resources to supporting survivors.