Woman Brutally Assaulted by Four Men Demonstrating Resilience After Trauma, Joins Hands to End the Torment of Sexual Violence
Reviewing the past 30 years, despite some progress in girls’ rights, violence against women remains widespread, shocking, and infuriating. Last year, a female intern doctor in India was tragically raped and killed in a hospital, an incident that sent shockwaves around the world. In conflict zones, sexual violence has become a weapon of war; during the Sudan conflict, armed groups have even targeted children, with the youngest victim being only one year old. Sexual violence not only harms women’s bodies, leading to unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, but also leaves lifelong scars, forcing victims to grapple with shame, fear, and isolation.
Sexual Violence Is Everywhere: Vulnerable Girls Live in Fear
On March 7, Plan International, UNICEF, and UN Women jointly released a new report revealing that 650 million women worldwide have experienced sexual violence, including 50 million underage girls. [1]The report highlights that beyond the influence of gender-unequal cultures, crises such as poverty, natural disasters, and war increase women’s risk of sexual violence when they lose their homes and stable income sources. Even within their own homes, safety is not guaranteed. Over the past year, nearly one in five girls aged 15 to 19 globally has faced intimate partner violence. The threat of sexual violence looms like a shadow, leaving women in constant fear—vulnerable to assault at any moment, whether on their way to school or simply stepping outside.
Woman Brutally Assaulted by Four Men: Humiliated and Traumatised
Currently, two out of every ten women worldwide have experienced sexual violence before adulthood, with the situation being particularly severe in sub-Saharan Africa.[2] Ellie*, a mother of three from a village in Ethiopia, is a survivor of sexual violence. One afternoon, while buying medicine at a pharmacy, four men came in suddenly and dragged her into a car. She was taken to an abandoned candy factory, where they took turns assaulting her. It wasn’t until midnight that Ellie, covered in bruises, was dumped back home. Neighbours found her and rushed her to a hospital.
Recalling that unbearable experience, Ellie raised four fingers to indicate the number of assailants, her eyes filled with pain and helplessness.
”At that moment, my soul and body felt as if they were torn apart, and I could not find a reason to live,” Ellie recalled, her voice trembling uncontrollably. Sexual violence shattered her physically and mentally, yet the nightmare was far from over—at her most vulnerable, her husband cruelly abandoned her, and neighbours relentlessly humiliated her, pushing her to the brink of collapse.
Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence to Prevent Further Tragedies
To support survivors like Ellie, Plan International has partnered with local organisations in Ethiopia to establish one-stop centres offering legal aid, medical care, and psychological counselling, helping survivors seek justice and emerge from the shadows of trauma. It is heartening to know that, with this support, Ellie successfully brought her assailants to justice, gradually healing her trauma. She has since resolved to advocate for women’s rights in her community, working to end sexual violence.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
At the same time, Ellie’s family has also begun a new chapter with Plan International’s assistance. Her nine-year-old son, a beneficiary of the “Child Sponsorship Programme,” receives school supplies to continue his education. The family has also benefited from our community development project, receiving five goats and earning a steady income by selling goat milk, slowly bringing their lives back on track.
We partnered with local organisations to set up a one-stop centre, providing sexual violence survivors with legal assistance, medical care, and psychological counselling to help them seek justice and overcome their trauma.
With the support of Plan International, Ellie and her family have started a new chapter in life. Through her hard work, she hopes to support her three sons’ education so they can chase their dreams.
Empowering Girls to Speak Out, Eradicating Sexual Violence at Its Roots
Ellie’s resilience in rebuilding her life after such an ordeal is inspiring. Yet, in many developing countries, sexual violence remains rampant, with countless women struggling to survive in darkness. To address the root causes of sexual violence, Plan International continues to promote gender equality education in communities. For example, in India, through community education, advocacy, and youth empowerment, we are educating boys to respect girls while encouraging youth to identify potential safety risks in their communities. Girls are also empowered to raise concerns to authorities, pushing for policy changes to create safer environments. Additionally, we are providing self-defence training to empower girls to protect themselves from any form of harm.
In India, we are offering self-defence training for girls and encouraging graduates to teach these skills to others.
Countless survivors have revealed their deepest sufferings and shared their unbearable experiences of sexual assault, hoping to urge the public to respond to the urgent need to end sexual violence. We hope you will support our ongoing efforts to advance girls’ rights in developing countries. Through education, we aim to raise awareness of gender equality in communities, creating safe environments where girls are free from sexual violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, and other forms of exploitation. Education is the key to enabling them to pursue their dreams and live fulfilling lives.
Donate to Girls Fund for a year, you can help support some of the projects below :
- Provide 1-week self-defence training for girls to protect themselves
- Support education for 2 girls for 7 months
HK$4/day Rescue Girls from the Torment of Sexual Violence HK$8/day Sponsor a Child
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[1] Plan International, United Nations Children’s Fund, & UN Women. (2025). GIRL GOALS: What has changed for girls? Adolescent girls’ rights over 30 years. https://www.unicef.org/moldova/en/media/16941/file/Girl_Goals_Report.pdf.pdf
[2] UNICEF. (2017). Sexual violence – UNICEF DATA. UNICEF DATA. https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/violence/sexual-violence/
