NEW YORK — More than 370 million girls and women alive today, or one in every eight worldwide, experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, the United Nations (UN) children's agency said on Oct 9.

The number rises to 650 million, or one in five, when taking into account "non-contact" forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse, Unicef reported, in what it called the first global survey of the problem.

The report said that while girls and women were worst affected, 240 to 310 million boys and men, or around one in 11, have experienced rape or sexual assault during childhood.

"The scale of this human rights violation is overwhelming, and it's been hard to fully grasp because of stigma, challenges in measurement, and limited investment in data collection," Unicef said in releasing the report.

It comes ahead of an inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Colombia in November.

Unicef said its findings highlight the urgent need for intensified global action, including by strengthening laws and helping children recognise and report sexual violence.

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