© UNICEF/T. Ingram Sexual violence is used as a tactic of war, the UN notes. UN report: Conflict-related sexual violence doubles in one year Peace and Security
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, presented her annual report on Friday, covering the period January to December 2025. She stressed that the report does not focus on any one side, but documents violations in 21 conflict-affected countries. It pays special attention to victims whose lives have been destroyed by sexual violence in war.
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The UN recorded 9,788 confirmed cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, more than double the previous year.
Women and girls continue to make up the majority of victims, although men and boys have also been subjected to violence, especially in places of detention.
The report reports conflict-related abuses such as rape, gang rape, forced marriage, human trafficking, torture and abduction.
Victims ranged in age from one year to 70 years old. Among them were people with disabilities.
The report notes that sexual violence continues to be used as a tactic of war, terrorism, torture, repression and territorial control. Armed groups in countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Haiti and Colombia have used sexual violence along with kidnappings, human trafficking and forced marriages.
Cases of sexual violence against detainees, especially men and boys, have been reported in Libya, Myanmar, Ukraine, Russia, Yemen, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Patten said at the report’s launch at UN headquarters. provides a list of 77 parties responsible for systematic sexual violence in conflict. Most of them are non-state armed groups (62).
The list included for the first time three armed groups operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Israeli military and security forces, and the Russian military and security forces.
Inclusion of Israel in list
Patten said Israel’s designation was based on documented evidence of systematic rape and other forms of sexual violence against Palestinians, mostly in detention. She also noted that UN observers have limited access to such sites.
The UN verified 31 cases involving 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl from Gaza and the West Bank. Violations included rape, gang rape, sexual torture, genital examinations for no apparent reason, and cases of people being forced to expose themselves.
Patten said Israel had been warned in a previous report and offered technical support, but the UN had found no evidence of preventative measures being implemented.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Platform X that it would “sever all ties” with the Office of the Secretary-General in response to the decision to list the country as an actor responsible for systematic sexual violence in conflict. admitted no cases of sexual violence
Nine female hostages and three male Israeli hostages freed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in 2023 and 2025 said they were sexually assaulted. The UN has been unable to confirm any of these claims as “the Government of Israel continues to deny competent United Nations authorities access to conduct investigations.”
“With regard to holding accountable the perpetrators of the October 7, 2023 attacks, since its inclusion in the list in the annex to the previous report, Hamas has not acknowledged a single incident of sexual violence, made any commitments or taken action regarding violations related to sexual violence, including holding the perpetrators accountable,” the report says.
Including Russia list
Patten said Russian military and security forces were included on the list after the UN verified 310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, mostly against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees.
Violations Patten said included rape, gang rape, assault mutilation of the genital area and electroshock injuries to the genitals.
According to Patten, the incidents of sexual violence mentioned in the report by Russian military and security forces affected 280 men, 26 women and four girls.
“Of these, 52 cases occurred during 2025, mostly against male prisoners of war and civilian detainees. The remaining cases, although verified and documented in 2025, occurred between February 2022 and December 2024,” Patten said.
She noted that UN observers were denied access to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the territory of the Russian Federation, due to which these cases could only be confirmed after liberation victims.
Patten also added that there has been no interaction between her Office and the Government of the Russian Federation since July 2022.
“After last year’s report warned Russian military and security forces of possible designation, the Secretary-General, in a letter dated 11 August 2025, outlined a number of preventive measures to be taken in accordance with relevant Council resolutions Security. Unfortunately, there has been no response and none of these measures have yet been implemented,” Patten said.
Abuse by Ukrainian military and security forces
As the report notes, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine also documented 31 cases of conflict-related sexual violence committed by suspected of being representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine and employees of Ukrainian penitentiary institutions.
The violations included the use of electric current in the genital area and blows to the genitals, as well as forced nudity. The victims of the violence were 27 men and four women, including civilian detainees and prisoners of war.
The Ukrainian government continued to provide necessary access to independent monitors, lawyers and families, and took steps to strengthen national policies and legislation to combat sexual violence, the report said.