Published on: 2026-05-29
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, presented the annual report on Friday, covering the period from January to December 2025. She emphasized that the report is not dedicated to any one party, but documents violations in 21 countries affected by conflicts. It pays particular attention to victims whose lives were destroyed as a result of sexual violence in conflict situations.
Global trends
In 2025, the UN registered 9,788 confirmed cases of sexual violence in conflict situations, which is more than double the figure of the previous year.
Women and girls still make up the majority of victims, but men and boys have also been subjected to violence, especially in places of detention under guard.
The report mentions such violations in the context of conflicts as rapes, gang rapes, forced marriages, human trafficking, torture, and abductions.
The ages of the victims ranged from one year to 70 years. 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, the DRC, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Haiti, and Colombia have used sexual violence alongside killings, human trafficking, and forced marriages.
Cases of sexual violence against detainees, especially men and boys, have been recorded in Libya, Myanmar, Ukraine, Russia, Yemen, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories, Patten reported at the United Nations headquarters during a presentation of the report.
List of parties responsible for sexual violence
The appendix to the report contains a list of 77 pages responsible for systematic sexual violence in conflict conditions. Most of them are non-state armed groups (62).
Three armed groups operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israeli armed forces and security forces, as well as Russian armed forces and security forces, were included in the list for the first time.
Inclusion of Israel in the list
Patten stated that the inclusion in Israel’s list is based on confirmed facts of systematic rape and other forms of sexual violence against Palestinians, primarily in places of detention. She also noted that UN observers are restricted in their access to such places.
The UN confirmed 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, inspections of genitalia without visible reason, as well as cases where people were forced to undress.
Patten stated that Israel was given a warning in a previous report and offered technical support, but the UN found no evidence of the implementation of preventive measures.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel stated on platform X that it will “sever all ties” with the Office of the Secretary-General in response to the decision to include the country in the list of entities responsible for systematic sexual violence in conflict situations.
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric, in turn, stated that the doors for Israel will always “remain open.”
HAMAS did not acknowledge a single case of sexual violence
Nine hostages and three male hostages from Israel, freed by HAMAS and other Palestinian armed groups in 2023 and 2025, stated that sexual violence was committed against them. The UN was unable to confirm any of these statements, as the “Government of Israel continues to deny the competent bodies of the United Nations access to conduct investigations.”
“As for holding those responsible for the attack on October 7, 2023 accountable, Hamas has not recognized a single case of sexual violence since being included in the list attached to the previous report, has not taken on any obligations, and has not taken measures regarding violations related to sexual violence, including holding perpetrators accountable,” the report says.
Inclusion of Russia in the list
Patten reported that Russian armed forces and security forces were included in the list after the UN confirmed 310 cases of sexual violence related to the conflict, mainly against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians detained.
Violations, according to Patten, included rapes, gang rapes, injuries to the genital area, and electric shock injuries to the genital organs.
As Patten clarified, as a result of the cases of sexual violence mentioned in the report, committed by Russian armed forces and security forces, 280 men, 26 women, and four girls were affected.
“Out of 52 cases committed during 2025, mostly involving men – prisoners of war and civilians detained. The remaining cases, which were verified and documented in 2025, occurred in the period from February 2022 to December 2024,” said Patten.
She noted that UN observers are denied access to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and to the territory of the Russian Federation, which is why these cases could only be confirmed after liberation of the affected areas.
Patten also added that since July 2022 there has been no interaction between her Office and the Government of the Russian Federation.
“After the report last year that the Russian armed forces and security forces were warned about a possible inclusion in the list, the Secretary-General in a letter dated August 11, 2025, reported a number of preventive measures that should be taken in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions. Unfortunately, no response was received, and none of these measures have been implemented to date,” Patten said.
Violations by the Ukrainian armed forces and security forces
As noted in the report, the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has also recorded 31 cases of sexual violence during the conflict, allegedly committed by representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and employees of Ukrainian penitentiary institutions.
Violations included the use of electric current in the genital area and blows to the genitals, as well as forcing to undress. The victims of violence were 27 men and four women, including civilians detained and prisoners of war.
The government of Ukraine continued to provide unhindered access to independent observers, lawyers, and families, and also took steps to strengthen national policy and the legislative framework in order to combat sexual violence, the report says.
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