By Samuel Ssebuliba.
The United Nations has confirmed that it received 40 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse across its entities for the last three months of 2017.
According the UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, these include 15 reported from peacekeeping operations.
She says that of these 40 allegations, 13 are categorized as sexual abuse, 24 as sexual exploitation, and three are of an unknown nature.
The allegations involve 54 victims; 30 are women and 16 are girls under the age of 18, and the ages of 8, while others are unknown.
12 of the 40 allegations occurred in 2017, seven in 2016, three in or before 2015, and the dates unknown for 18 of them.
She has however said that with over 95,000 civilians and 90,000 uniformed personnel working for the UN, these cases of sexual exploitation and abuse are not reflective of the conduct of the majority of the dedicated women and men who serve the organization.
