The UN has a new report out, and it turns out that when it comes to sexual violence in conflict, men and boys have been quietly suffering in the shadows while everyone else was looking the other way. A Ukrainian prisoner of war released in 2025 after three years in detention brought with him memories of rape, forced nudity, beatings, and electric shocks to his genitals - because apparently, that's a thing that happens, and it's been happening a lot.
According to the UN Secretary-General's report, women and girls made up 93% of verified victims of conflict-related sexual violence in 2024, but men and boys accounted for 7%. That's still a lot of people, and the actual numbers are probably way higher since an estimated 90-95% of sexual abuse against men and boys in conflict settings never gets recorded. Because nothing says 'justice' like a crime that's practically invisible.
Detention facilities are a prime location for this kind of abuse. In Ukraine, the UN verified 310 cases of CRSV, 280 involving men - many of them prisoners of war or civilian detainees. The abuses included rape, forced nudity, beatings, and electric shocks, all used to punish, humiliate, and extract information. Because torture isn't enough; it has to be sexual too.
This isn't just a Ukraine problem. The UN has documented male survivors in conflicts across Gaza, the West Bank, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Haiti. But the cases they've verified are conservative estimates, because insecurity, restricted access, and fear of retaliation keep many survivors quiet.
Why the underreporting? Social expectations around masculinity, homophobia, fear of being perceived as weak, and limited institutional attention to male survivors all play a part. Plus, men and boys often describe sexual violence as torture, especially after detention, which makes it harder for humanitarian and justice systems to identify the specific needs. It's almost like language matters.
Research in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo shows the scale of the problem: in one study, 23.6% of men reported experiencing sexual violence when asked directly, and nearly two-thirds said it happened in the context of conflict. That's a lot of men who were just waiting for someone to ask.
For survivors, support networks can make a huge difference. One Ukrainian survivor said, 'For a long time, I thought what happened to me had no place to be spoken. Being here, with others who understand, changed that. It gave me a way forward.' Because healing is easier when you're not alone in the dark.
The UN is trying to improve things. UNIDIR recommends better data collection that explicitly allows men and boys to disclose sexual violence, along with survivor participation and psychosocial support tailored to their needs. In Ukraine, the UNited Action to Empower Survivors project supported 160 survivors in 2025, including 69 men, through psychological counselling, rehabilitation, and tailored assistance. They even helped set up male survivor networks for peer support and advocacy.
The Secretary-General stresses that survivors aren't a homogenous group, and responses must reflect differences in age, gender, circumstances, and individual needs. In Sudan, UN-supported initiatives are creating space for dialogue about men and boys' experiences, and UNHCR has issued guidance for humanitarian workers supporting male survivors in refugee and displacement settings.
So, yes, women and girls remain disproportionately affected, and that's still a crisis. But recognizing men and boys as victims of sexual violence in conflict doesn't take away from that - it just closes a gap in the response. Because everyone deserves to be seen, supported, and heard, even if it took a global report to notice.