Indicator 16.2.3 Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Definition:

Proportion of young women and men aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

Concepts:

Within the International Classification of Violence against Children (ICVAC), sexual violence is defined as ‘Any deliberate, unwanted and non-essential act of a sexual nature, either completed or attempted, that is perpetrated against a child, including for exploitative purposes, and that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, pain or psychological suffering.’ Sexual violence against a child can take many forms including rape, sexual assault or non-contact sexual violence (see ICVAC for detailed definitions).

Percent (%) of population aged 18-29

Household surveys such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) have been collecting data on this indicator in low- and middle-income countries since the late 1990s.

The DHS includes a standard module that captures information on rape (ICVAC category 301) and sexual assault of a child (ICVAC category 302) but does not collect information about non-contact sexual violence against a child (ICVAC category 303). . In recent years, some countries conducting Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) have included the standard, or an adapted, version of the DHS module. Respondents are asked whether, at any time in their lives (as children or adults), anyone ever forced them – physically or in any other way – to have sexual intercourse or to perform any other sexual acts against their will. Those responding ‘yes’ to this question are then asked how old they were the first time this happened.

It is important to flag that the DHS module was not specifically designed to capture experiences of sexual violence in childhood and while it produces data that can be used to report on 16.2.3, methodological work is underway to develop standard questions specifically designed to measure sexual violence against children in all its forms (i.e., both contact and non-contact).

National Statistical Offices (for the most part) or line ministries/other government agencies that have conducted national surveys on sexual violence against women and men.

The availability of comparable data remains a serious challenge in this area as many data collection efforts have relied on different study methodologies and designs, definitions of sexual violence, samples and questions to elicit information. Data on the experiences of boys are particularly sparse. A further challenge in this field is underreporting, especially when it comes to reporting on experiences of sexual violence among boys and men.

Number of young women and men aged 18-29 years who report having experienced any sexual violence by age 18 divided by the total number of young women and men aged 18-29 years, respectively, in the population multiplied by 100.

2024-09-27

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Not applicable

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