Conflict-related sexual violence cases more than doubled in 2025, UN warns

By R Anil Kumar

Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, briefed the Security Council’s open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), presenting the Secretary-General’s annual report and stressing the need to support survivors in conflict zones where services are increasingly inaccessible.

New York/Bengaluru, 29 May 2026. Nearly 10,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were recorded worldwide last year – more than double the previous year’s figure – as rape, sexual slavery and abduction were deployed as weapons of war across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean.

Releasing the UN’s annual report on May 29, Special Representative Pramila Patten said the numbers reflected a deepening global trend, with rising insecurity, displacement and dwindling resources for survivors all fuelling the crisis.

“In 2025 documented cases of sexual violence as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression marked by extreme brutality and overwhelmingly targeting women and girls increased dramatically,” she told reporters at UN Headquarters.

The report verified 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence during 2025 – however, Ms. Patten stressed the figure does not reflect the brutal reality.

“The figures contained in this report should be understood not as the full picture, but as an indication of a much broader pattern of violations that remain largely unseen and underreported,” she said.

Civilians targeted

The report documents rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, trafficking and abductions committed by both State and non-State actors across 21 conflict-affected countries.

Women and girls remained the primary targets, although men and boys were also subjected to sexual violence, often in detention settings and as a form of torture. LGBTQI+ individuals also faced heightened risk of targeted persecution and harassment.

Victims ranged in age from one to 70 years old, according to the report, which also recorded cases involving persons with disabilities.

Ms. Patten said the violence was frequently accompanied by extreme physical abuse, including killings after rape and incidents of suicide among survivors.

“At its heart, this report is about the human suffering of all these survivors and communities living in the shadow of war,” she said.

Armed groups and access

The report noted that non-State armed groups, including organized criminal groups, continued to use sexual violence to exert control over communities and territory, including areas rich in natural resources.

Displaced and refugee women and girls faced heightened risks, particularly in remote and border areas where support networks had collapsed.

The widespread availability of small arms also continued to fuel sexual violence across multiple conflicts, according to the findings.

At the same time, humanitarian access restrictions, insecurity and funding shortfalls were making it harder to document abuses and assist survivors.

Documented abusers added

The report’s annex lists 77 parties deemed responsible for patterns of conflict-related sexual violence, including 62 non-State actors.

New additions include three non-State armed groups operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – the Wazalendo armed elements, the Forces nationales de libération, and the Mai-Mai du groupearmé de l’Union des patriotes pour la libération du Congo.

Two State actors – Russian armed and security forces, and Israeli armed and security forces – were also newly listed following findings of continued patterns of sexual violence documented by the UN.

The two parties were “put on notice for potential listing in the next reporting period” last year.

Outside of the numbers, Ms. Pramila Patten explained numerous concerning trends seen in the report.

Firstly, the displaced and refugee women and girls are exposed to heightened risks of sexual violence, which inhibit their safe return.

Food insecurity also heightens the risk of sexual violence as belligerent parties restrict humanitarian access

Additionally, armed groups use sexual violence to consolidate control over territory and natural resources, and to incentivize the recruitment of fighters.

Notably, CRSV also persists in formal and informal detention settings worldwide.

Finally, as funding cuts cause UN peace operations to draw down, the capacity of the UN system to reach and support CRSV survivors has greatly diminished.

Call for action from Security Council

The report urges theSecurity Council  and Member States to strengthen prevention, accountability and support for survivors.

Recommendations include:

Ensuring unhindered humanitarian access, expanding monitoring and sanctions mechanisms,supporting women’s protection advisers in UN missions, strengthening investigations and prosecutions, andincreasing funding for medical, psychosocial and legal services.

Ms. Patten appealed for the focus to remain on survivors.

“These violations are neither isolated nor confined to a handful of contexts,” she said.

“They are global in scale, devastating in impact and demand a response centred not on political posturing, selective outrage or pre-conceived narratives, but on the rights, needs and dignity of victims and survivors.”