Sexual violence against children ‘entrenched, systemic and widespread’ across DR Congo, UNICEF warns

The surge is unfolding against the backdrop of escalating conflict in eastern DRC, where renewed fighting has triggered mass displacement, eroded protection systems and deepened an already severe humanitarian crisis - placing children at heightened risk of abuse, exploitation and lasting trauma.

UNICEF has repeatedly called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access, stressing that conflict-driven displacement and poverty are fuelling violence against children nationwide.

'Hidden scars'

The report,The Hidden Scars of Conflict and Silence, documents cases in every province, underlining that the crisis extends far beyond active front lines. The highest numbers are recorded in conflict-affected eastern provinces - including North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri - where insecurity, displacement and weak protection services leave children extremely vulnerable.

Significant numbers are also reported in Kinshasa and the Kasai regions, where poverty, food insecurity and school drop-out rates heighten exposure to exploitation, early marriage and abuse.

Nationwide figures compiled by child protection and gender-based violence service providers show that more than 35,000 cases of sexual violence against children were recorded in the first nine months of 2025 alone. In 2024, nearly 45,000 cases were documented - almost three times higher than in 2022 - accounting for close to 40 per cent of all reported sexual violence cases in the country.

UNICEF cautions that the real toll is likely far higher, as fear, stigma, insecurity and limited access to services prevent many survivors from reporting abuse.

Resilience must shape the response

The report centres survivor testimony alongside data, underscoring that each statistic represents a child whose life has been profoundly altered by violence.

Survivors describe shame, isolation and a fractured sense of self, while also expressing determination to reclaim dignity and hope. Their accounts, collected by social workers across multiple provinces, illustrate both the magnitude of the crisis and the resilience of those affected - resilience UNICEF says must shape the response.

"Case workers describe mothers walking for hours to reach clinics with daughters who can no longer walk after being assaulted," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Families say fear of stigma and retaliation often keeps them from reporting the abuse. Stories like these are repeated across provinces, exposing an entrenched crisis driven by insecurity, inequality and weak support systems."

Adolescent girls account for the largest and fastest-growing share of reported cases, though boys are also subjected to sexual violence and remain significantly under-represented due to stigma and underreporting. Children with disabilities face heightened risks, as physical, social and communication barriers both increase vulnerability and restrict access to care and justice.

Children speak out

The scale of the crisis is increasingly reflected in children's own words.

"My role is not in an armed conflict," wrote a child from the DRC in a message addressed to world leaders through the Prove It Matters campaign, led by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Marking the end of 2025, the UN Special Representative Vanessa Frazier, warned that children in the DRC and other conflict settings faced extreme levels of abuse throughout the year.

She underscored that 2024 was already the worst year on record since the mandate was established nearly 30 years ago, cautioning that such harm must not be allowed to become the new normal. In her statement, she cited the DRC alongside Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Ukraine as contexts where children continued to suffer "appalling levels of grave violations in 2025."

'We cannot change 2025'

"We cannot change 2025, but we can act and be resolute to change the situation of children affected by armed conflict in 2026," Ms. Frazier said.

She called on leaders to listen to children, uphold international law, end violations, release children associated with armed groups and strengthen funding for child protection, justice and long-term recovery.

Funding cuts deepen risk

Although UNICEF and partners expanded assistance between 2022 and 2024 - reaching more than 24,200 children in the most affected provinces last year - insecurity and global funding cuts have forced many safe spaces, mobile clinics and community-based protection programmes to scale back or close.

By mid-2025, only 23 per cent of gender-based violence interventions were funded, down from 48 per cent in 2022, placing hundreds of thousands of children at risk of losing essential services, including an estimated 300,000 children in eastern conflict zones.

"A protected child is a secure future," another child affected by conflict told world leaders through the Prove It Matters campaign.