On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on June 19, SOS Children’s Villages warns of the increasing use of sexual violence as a strategic tool in armed conflicts. Over 473 million children worldwide live in conflict zones, and one in six is at risk of sexual assault – girls are particularly affected. The crimes continue to increase with the rising number of wars and civil wars.

Sexual violence deliberately serves to destroy social structures and leaves devastating physical and psychological consequences that affect societies for generations. A UN report documented 1,186 cases of sexual violence against children in post-conflict situations in 2023, 98 percent of the victims were girls. It is estimated that 100 additional acts per reported case remain unregistered.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is particularly alarming, with the highest number of conflict-related sexual assaults in the world. The conflict between the army and the M23 militia is estimated to have victimized between 200,000 and one million girls and women, with attacks on the rise again since 2025. In Haiti, political instability is exacerbating violence by rival gangs that systematically use sexual assault as a means of terror. In 2024, over 4,000 cases were reported, many of them gang rapes, while assaults on children increased by 1,000 percent. In Sudan, where fighting between the army and the RSF has been raging for over two years, around 60,000 cases of sexual violence were recorded in 2023, with a massive increase in human rights violations against children, including sexual slavery, in the first quarter of 2025 in Darfur.

SOS Children’s Villages is calling for increased protection for girls and women as well as support and compensation for those affected in order to alleviate the serious consequences of these crimes.

Editorial office: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender note. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple references and gendered designations are avoided for the sake of better readability ected.