Armed forces in Sudan’s ongoing civil war are perpetrating systematic sexual violence against young children, with one-year-olds the youngest survivors of rape, according to a new report from UNICEF, the United Nations’ (UN) children’s agency.

The UNICEF report, released Tuesday, said that at least 221 cases of child rape had been recorded since the beginning of 2024, along with an additional 77 reported cases of sexual assault against children.

Four one-year-olds were among those who survived sexual assaults, while another 12 survivors were children under the age of 5, according to the report. Of the rape survivors, 66% are girls and 33% are boys.

The data, compiled by gender-based violence service providers in Sudan, only represent a “small fraction” of the total child rape cases, UNICEF said, noting that survivors, their families and even frontline workers are often unwilling or unable to report the crimes due to challenges around accessing services, cultural stigmas and the fear of retribution from armed groups.