One in eight girls and women raped or sexually assaulted before age 18, UNICEF says

A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than 370 million girls and women alive today, or one in every eight worldwide, experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, the United Nations children's agency said on Wednesday.

The number rises to 650 million, or one in five, when taking into account "non-contact" forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse, UNICEF reported, in what it called the first global survey of the problem.