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New Initiative to Address Sexual Violence Against Girls Launched at Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York
September 25, 2009The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), five United Nations organizations (UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNIFEM, WHO) and private sector supporters will join together later today via the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in a new approach to address the rights violations and health impacts of sexual violence against girls. According to the World Health Organization, in 2002 approximately 150 million girls experienced some form of sexual violence with physical contact. "Sexual violence against children is a gross violation of their rights, a moral and ethical outrage and an assault on the world's conscience," said Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF. "Sexual abuse can lead to lost childhoods, abandoned education, physical and emotional problems, the spread of HIV, and an often irrevocable loss of dignity and self-esteem." In 2007 CDC, UNICEF and several local institutions partnered to implement a national survey on violence against girls and young women in Swaziland. Swaziland has the highest prevalence of HIV among adults globally. The survey showed that approximately one-third of girls had a history of sexual violence. Additionally, more than 40% of those who experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes had two or more incidences prior to age 18. Full release.