‘1 out of 5’: Vatican newspaper decries pervasive sexual assault of girls in sub-Saharan Africa
October 11, 2024
» Continue to this story on L'Osservatore Romano (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: The Vatican newspaper devoted the most prominent front-page coverage in it October 10 edition to a new report by UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) on sexual violence against girls.
With the headline “Una su cinque” [One out of five], L’Osservatore Romano, citing the UNICEF statement, reported that 79 million women in sub-Saharan Africa have suffered rape or sexual assault by the time they have turned 18.
According to UNICEF:
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of victims, followed by 75 million in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (8%), 73 million in Central and Southern Asia (9%), 68 million in Europe and Northern America (14%), 45 million in Latin America and the Caribbean (18%), 29 million in Northern Africa and Western Asia (15%), and 6 million in Oceania (34%).
“An estimated 240 to 310 million boys and men – or around 1 in 11 – have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood,” UNICEF added.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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