Press Kit digitale per l’incontro sulla protezione dei minori
A look at child abuse on the global level
Useful links:
Towards a Global Indicator: on Unidentified Victims in Child Sexual Exploitation Material,
Summary Report, ECPAT, INTERPOL, 2018.
A Familiar Face: Violence in the lives of children and adolescents, United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2017.
Toward a world free from Violence: Global survey on violence against children, Office of
the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, 2015.
Studio multi-paese sui drivers della violenza all’infanzia, Istituto degli Innocenti, Fiorenze,
2016.
Inspire: Seven Strategies for Ending Violence Against Children, World Health
Organization, 2016.
Premise: The true gravity of the phenomenon is unknown
Sexual abuse of minors, an historical phenomenon which can be found in every culture and
in every society, has relatively recently become the object of systematic study. This is due
to the changed sensibility of public opinion on a topic that in the past was considered a
taboo. Even today, however, the available statistics gathered by various national and
international organizations (WHO, UNICEF, INTERPOL, EUROPOL, etc.) do not represent the
true extent of the phenomenon which is often underestimated, primarily because many
cases of sexual abuse of minors are not reported. In fact, 1 out of 3 tell no one (THORN,
2017). Research conducted by UNICEF in 30 countries confirms this fact. A small
percentage of victims said that they asked for help. Behind this reluctance could be the
fear of vendetta, feelings of guilt, shame, confusion, distrust in institutions, cultural and
social conditioning, but also misinformation regarding the services and structures that can
help. The one thing that is certain is that millions of children in the world are victims of
exploitation and sexual abuse.
General Data1
The Victims
►Global level: In 2017, the WHO estimated that up to 1 billion minors between the ages
of 2 and 17 years of age have endured violence either physical, emotional, or sexual.
Sexual abuse (from groping to rape), according to some UNICEF estimates from 2014,
affected over 120 million children, representing the highest number of victims. In 2017,
the same UN organization reported that in 38 low and middle income countries, almost 17
million adult women admitted having a forced sexual relationship during their childhood.
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The data reported here refers to a sampling of countries chosen on the basis of the availability of reliable data.
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►Europe: In 2013, the WHO estimated that almost 18 million babies had been victims of
sexual abuse. Of these, 13.4% were girls and 5.7%, boys. According to UNICEF, in 28
European countries, about 2.5 million young women have reported sexual abuse, with or
without physical contact, before the age of 15 years (data published in 2017). In addition,
44 million (about 22.9%) have been victims of physical violence, while 55 million (29.6%)
have been victims of psychological violence. And this is not all: in 2017, an INTERPOL
report on the sexual exploitation of minors led to the identification of 14,289 victims in 54
European countries.
►Asia: In India, between 2001 and 2011, the ”Asian Center for Human Rights” reported a
total of 48.338 cases of the rape of minors, with an increase of 336%: from 2,113 cases in
2001, to 7,112 cases in 2011.
►North America: In the United States, official government data reports that over 700
million children are victims of violence and abuse every year. According to the
International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), one out of 10 children
experiences sexual abuse.
►Oceania: In Australia, according to data published by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW) in February 2018, covering the years 2015-2017, 1 out of 6 women
(16%, or 1.5 million) reported that they were abused physically or sexually before the age
of 15, and 1 out of 9 men (11%, or 9.92 thousand) reported that they were abused when
they were boys. Between 2015-2016, about 450 million children were under child
protection measures and 55,600 minors had been removed from their homes to treat the
abuse suffered and prevent further abuse. The risks that the native populations experience
should not be forgotten: according to AIHW, between 2015-2016, indigenous children
were 7 times more likely to suffer abuse or abandonment in respect to their non-
indigenous peers.
►Africa In South Africa the results of research conducted by the Center for Justice and
Crime Prevention revealed that in 2016, 1 out of 3 South Africans, male or female, was at
risk of sexual abuse before reaching the age of 17. According to that study, the first of its
kind on the national scale in South Africa, 784.967 teenagers between the ages of 15 and
17 had already experienced sexual abuse. The victims in this case are prevalently boys. Not
even 1/3 had reported the violence to the police.
In other African countries, the sexual abuse of minors is part of the wider context of
violence linked to conflict which plagues the continent and makes it difficult to quantify.
The phenomenon is also closely connected with the practice of early marriage which is
widespread in various African nations.
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Who commits the abuse?
►On the global level, it has emerged that such violence (whether physical, sexual or
emotional) is committed mostly by parents, relatives, spouses of child brides, or teachers.
In addition, according to UNICEF data from 2017 regarding 28 countries, out of 10
adolescents who have reported forced sexual relations, 9 revealed that they were victims
of a person they know or was close to the family.
►The home is not the only theater of violence. Others, such as schools and the world of
sports are also environments in which episodes of sexual abuse can occur. Research done
by the UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 2011 reported that
29% of the children interviewed reported that they had experienced sexual harassment
(physical and verbal) in the sporting centers they frequented.
Online
►With the develop of the internet, cases of abuse and violence perpetrated online is
clearly growing. According to data from 2017 from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a
web page displays images of children being sexually abused every 7 minutes. In 2017,
78,589 URLs were identified that contained images of sexual abuse, concentrated
particularly in the Netherlands, followed by the United States, Canada, France and Russia.
55% of the victims are less than 10 years old. 86% contained images of girls, 7% of boys,
and 5% contained images of both boys and girls.
Sex tourism
►According to data from 2017, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), each year 3
million persons take a trip in order to have sexual relations with minors. The most popular
destinations are Brazil, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Thailand and Cambodia, and more
recently, some African and Eastern European countries.
►The first six countries of origin of those who perpetrate the abuse are: France, Germany,
the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Italy. Not to be overlooked is the growing number of
women traveling to developing countries seeking paid sex with minors. In total, they
represent about 10% of the world’s sex tourists.
►In addition, according to a study conducted by ECPAT International (End Child
Prostitution in Asian Tourism) between 2015 and 2016, 35% of these sex tourists are
regular customers, while 65% are occasional customers. It is a significant fact that the
perpetrators of such crimes, in most cases, are oblivious of the fact that they are
committing a crime.
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“Best Practices”
Under the leadership of the WHO, a group of 10 international agencies 2 developed an
approved a series of strategies called INSPIRE, in total 7 strategies to put an end to
violence against children. Each letter of the word INSPIRE represents one of the strategies,
most of which have proven to be effective in preventing various types of violence, as well
as being beneficial in such sectors as mental health, education, and crime reduction.
The seven strategies are:
Implementation and enforcement of laws: e.g. prohibiting violent discipline and
limiting access to alcohol and firearms.
Norms and values: e.g. modifying the cultural norms that permit the sexual abuse
of girls or aggressive behavior between boys.
Safe environments: i.e. identifying the “hot spots” for violence in the neighborhood
and then addressing local causes through policies aimed at resolving the problems
and providing other types of intervention.
Parent and caregiver support: e.g. providing formation for parents of young people,
and first-time parents.
Income and economic strengthening: such as microfinance fostering economic
equality between men and women;
Response and support services: e.g. guaranteeing children who have been exposed
to violence adequate access to emergency care and to psychiatric and social
services.
Education and life skills: such as ensuring that children attend school and providing
life training and other social skills.
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CDC: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CRC: Convention on the Rights of the
Child; End Violence Against Children: The Global Partnership; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization;
PEPFAR: President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief; TfG: Together for Girls; UNICEF: United Nations
Children’s Fund; UNODC: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; USAID: United States Agency for
International Development; WHO: World Health Organization
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