The surge is unfolding amid escalating conflict, particularly in eastern DRC, where renewed fighting has triggered mass displacement, weakened protection systems and intensified an already severe humanitarian crisis. As insecurity spreads, children are facing heightened risks of abuse, exploitation and long-term trauma.
UNICEF has repeatedly called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access, warning that conflict-driven displacement and deepening poverty are fuelling violence against children nationwide.
In a new report, The hidden scars of conflict and silence, UNICEF documents cases of sexual violence against children in every province of the country, 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 particularly vulnerable.
Significant numbers are also reported in Kinshasa and the Kasai regions, where poverty, food insecurity and high school dropout rates increase 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% of all reported sexual violence cases in the country.
UNICEF cautioned that the true scale of the crisis is likely far higher, as fear, stigma, insecurity and limited access to services prevent many survivors from reporting abuse.
The report combines data with survivor testimony, emphasising that each statistic represents a child whose life has been profoundly altered. Survivors describe shame, isolation and fractured identities, alongside a determination to reclaim dignity and hope.
“Case workers describe mothers walking for hours to reach clinics with daughters who can no longer walk after being assaulted,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said. Families often refrain from reporting abuse due to fear of stigma and retaliation, she added, noting that such stories are repeated across provinces.
Adolescent girls account for the largest and fastest-growing share of reported cases, although boys are also subjected to sexual violence and remain significantly under-reported. Children with disabilities face heightened risks, as physical, social and communication barriers both increase vulnerability and restrict access to care and justice.
The growing scale of abuse is increasingly reflected in children’s own words. One child from the DRC, addressing world leaders through the Prove It Matters campaign, wrote: “My role is not in an armed conflict.”
Marking the end of 2025, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier, warned that children in the DRC and other conflict settings had faced extreme levels of abuse throughout the year. She noted that 2024 was already the worst year on record since the mandate was established nearly three decades ago and cautioned against allowing such harm to become the new normal.
The DRC was cited alongside Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Ukraine as contexts where children continued to suffer appalling levels of grave violations in 2025.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
