SynthesisNature human behaviour2026
A systematic review of the global and regional estimates of the prevalence of sexual violence against children.
Synthesis in Nature human behaviour, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Assessing paedophilic sexual preferences in child sexual offenders using eye-tracking methods: an exploratory meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Epidemiological status and developmental trends of sexual violence among children and adolescents aged 0-19 years: a global analysis and projections.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
33 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Sexual violence against children (SVAC) is a critical global public health issue. Nonetheless, the availability of robust and comparable global and regional prevalence estimates remains limited. To address this gap, we aimed to provide current and refined estimates of SVAC to enhance understanding of its magnitude worldwide. We conducted comprehensive literature searches in the six official United Nations languages across 10 English-language databases, 23 non-English databases and more than 20 grey literature sources for records published between 1 January 2010 and 1 August 2024. Eligible studies included children under the age of 18 or adults retrospectively reporting SVAC. Studies were double-screened and extracted by two authors independently, with risk of bias assessed. A Bayesian hierarchical model was used to estimate lifetime and past-year prevalence, accounting for methodological and definitional variations across studies. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024495116). Of 64,393 records found and screened, 1,412 studies across 147 countries were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis, encompassing responses from 4,070,693 females and 2,910,973 males. Globally, 20.1% (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 19.8-20.4) of women and 16.8% (95% UI, 16.5-17.1) of men aged 18 years and older reported experiencing at least one form of SVAC (including both contact and non-contact forms) prior to age 18. Within this broader category, 12.4% (95% UI, 12.2-12.6) of women and 10.0% (95% UI, 9.8-10.2) of men experienced contact childhood sexual violence. In 2024 alone, an estimated 72.6 million girls and 60.9 million boys experienced at least one form of sexual violence, including 43.3 million girls and 34.8 million boys subjected to rape or sexual assault. In most regions, the estimated prevalence is somewhat higher for girls than for boys, although the global difference is smaller than reported in previous meta-analyses. Our findings highlight the alarming global burden of SVAC and the urgent need for evidence-based, multi-sectoral prevention strategies and intervention programmes to safeguard children worldwide. More well-designed research using a standardized approach to data collection is also needed, especially in regions under-represented by the current data.
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