One in seven adults in Greece victim of rape in childhood

One in seven adults in Greece has experienced sexual violence During his childhood, as evidenced by a worldwide study by the Institute of Measurement and Health Assessment of the Medical School of the University of Washington in Seattle, published in the « The Lancet » magazine.

Specifically, the percentage of women who experienced sexual violence as children in Greece is 12.1% and the percentage of men 15.3%. Overall in Western Europe, the corresponding rates are 20.7% for women and 14.1% for men and worldwide 18.9% and 14.8%.

This research concerns 204 sites and studies percentages by age and gender from 1990 to 2023. The study of the study is the Greek professor at the University of Washington, Emmanuela Gakidou. As she points out in the RES-EIA, it was found that « both in Greece and in Europe, the rate of sexual violence against children was high in both boys and girls. »

Concerning Greece, he adds that « these are deeply alarming elements that emphasize the pervasive nature of this issue within the country. » However, he states that « there are significant data gaps in this area and we must prioritize data collection efforts and improve our ability to monitor tendencies in sexual violence. »

Gaps in data collection

Critical gaps in data collection have been identified in many countries, which, according to researchers, stressed the urgent need for expanded surveillance programs, especially in low and medium -income countries.

Establishing standard optimal practices for monitoring sexual violence against children is emphasized that it can help experts identify obstacles in disclosure, reporting and care and create better children’s protection policies.

Map that captures the percentage of women aged 20-24 years who experienced sexual violence in childhood

The study highlights, as Mrs Gakidou points out, the « huge scale of sexual violence against children ». « It’s a widespread issue that affects millions of boys and girls worldwide. What is even more striking is that no region of the world is invulnerable to this problem, as high rates of occurrence of the phenomenon are observed everywhere, highlighting its global impact. « 

The countries with the highest prevalence of the phenomenon in women were the Solomon Islands with almost 43%, the ivory with 32%, Chile with 31%and Costa Rica and India with almost 31%. The US recorded almost 28% and the United Kingdom 24%.

In men, the countries with the highest rates were Ivory Coast and Bangladesh with 28%, Botswana with 27%, Haiti with 26%and Nigeria with 24%. The US was 16% and the United Kingdom about 17%.

Large number of minor victims

An equally important finding is that almost half of the survivors worldwide were sexually violence before the age of 16. 8% of women and 14% of men reported that they were exposed to sexual violence for the first time before the age of twelve.

« This emphasizes the urgent need to prioritize prevention efforts early, long before adulthood. It also emphasizes the importance of creating accessible support systems to help survivors reveal their experiences, as many cases remain hidden. This reality makes the need for systemic change even more urgent, ”observes Ms. Gakidou.

Born and raised in Athens and studying with US universities and past service at the World Health Organization and US universities, Emmanuela Gakidou has more than 20 years of research experience in the fields of monitoring and evaluation of needs, inequalities.

He is also co -founder of the Institute of Measurement and Health Assessment of the Medical School of the University of Washington in Seattle. As he describes, « the Institute was founded by a deep commitment to improve global health. When we founded it, our goal was to create a reliable, independent source of data and analysis that could guide policy makers, researchers and organizations in their efforts to face the most pressing global health challenges. « 

He adds that « in the end the institute exists to ensure that every life counts and that health systems are equipped to meet the needs of the people who serve. »