Ending Girls at Risk
Worldwide, up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed on girls younger than 16. Almost a quarter of all trafficking victims around the world are girls, and the majority of them are being trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
More than 650 million women alive today were married before the age of 18. In 2016, an estimated 5.6 million girls under the age of 18 became child brides.
Child marriage compromises a child’s development and severely limits her or his opportunities in life.
Supported, by Irish Aid, our Humanitarian Programme Plan improves children’s access to education and promotes children’s rights, protecting them from child marriage. We provide child survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse with shelter and help them heal and return to family and community life. We also train police personnel to address sexual crimes against children. We work with children, faith actors, media and the general population to challenge the social norms that condone sexual violence against children and against girls in particular.