The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, has warned that nearly 10,000 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence were recorded worldwide in 2025, describing the figure as a sharp escalation in the use of rape and other forms of sexual abuse as weapons of war.
Patten made the disclosure while presenting the United Nations annual report at the UN Headquarters in New York, stating that documented cases of sexual violence used as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression increased significantly during the year.
“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 said.
The findings were contained in a report published on the UN website on Friday titled, “Conflict-related sexual violence cases more than doubled in 2025, UN warns,” and obtained by our correspondent on Saturday.
The report verified 9,788 cases across 21 conflict-affected countries but stressed that the figure reflects only documented incidents and does not capture the full extent of the abuse.
Patten cautioned that the data should not be interpreted as comprehensive.
“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.
According to the report, the abuses include rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, trafficking and abductions committed by both state and non-state actors.
While women and girls remain the primary targets, the report also documented cases involving men and boys, often in detention settings and as a form of torture, as well as heightened risks faced by LGBTQI+ persons.
Victims ranged widely in age, with cases involving children as young as one year old and adults up to 70 years old, including persons with disabilities.
