UNICEF calls for urgent action to protect girls, women from sexual violence

A key advisor for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday called for an immediate action to protect girls and women across the world from sexual violence, saying that "we need action now to end this brutality that has become routine."

In a statement issued here in response to the recent case of sexual violence in India, Anju Malhotra, the UNICEF principal gender advisor, said that "the reported gang rape of a young Dalit woman in India by the same five men who had raped her three years ago underlines the heinous culture of impunity that surrounds violence against girls and women."

The incident took place last week in Haryana's Rohtak district, about 70 km northwest of the Indian capital of New Delhi. The young woman was allegedly raped by five men for the second time after three years in India and left to die in bushes, reports said.

"Approximately 120 million girls worldwide -- 1 in every 10 -- will experience sexual violence," the statement said. "The majority of these girls are violated for the first time between the ages of 15 and 19."

"But outrage is not enough," the statement said. "We need action now to end this brutality that has become routine and to give the victims of violence the justice and protection they deserve." Enditem