SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties said, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, that the continued grave violations against children in Yemen—including recently exposed cases of sexual extortion and exploitation—reflect a serious failure in the protection and justice system. They also reveal the urgent need for immediate legislative and institutional reform to ensure the protection of children and the accountability of perpetrators, particularly when those involved hold positions of authority or are members of security agencies.

The organization stated that the United Nations documented 742 violations against children in Yemen in 2025, a figure that reflects the dangerous environment in which children live after years of war. However, it does not reveal the full scale of violations, particularly crimes involving extortion, exploitation, and sexual violence, which are among the most underreported crimes due to fear of stigma, retaliation, and lack of trust in justice institutions.

SAM affirmed, based on its experience in monitoring and documenting violations throughout the years of conflict, that children have remained among the groups most exposed to killing, injury, recruitment, arbitrary detention, deprivation of education, economic exploitation, and sexual violence. However, many violations of a sexual nature never reach the courts or human rights organizations because victims and their families fear social scandal more than they trust institutions’ ability to protect them and deliver justice.

The organization said that the recently exposed cases of extortion and exploitation against children and boys in the city of Aden, allegedly involving members of security agencies, should not be treated as isolated individual incidents. Rather, they are a serious indicator of legal and institutional gaps that allow influence and authority to be exploited against children. SAM added that any exploitation of children by individuals who hold security or official authority constitutes an aggravating circumstance requiring an independent investigation and deterrent penalties, as it involves an abuse of power and a direct betrayal of the duty of protection.

SAM believes that sexual violence and extortion against children in Yemen cannot be separated from the environment created by the war. The prolonged conflict has weakened state institutions, dismantled family and community protection networks, expanded poverty, displacement, and school dropout rates, and made children more vulnerable to exploitation. In addition, the absence of effective oversight over some detention centers and security institutions, together with weak complaint and protection mechanisms, creates space for violations that are difficult to uncover or prosecute.

The organization warned that child recruitment is one of the most serious factors increasing children’s exposure to violence and exploitation, including sexual violence. Recruited children are taken away from their families and schools and placed in closed environments based on forced obedience, violence, and dependency, making them more vulnerable to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse during recruitment, training, or participation in military operations. Ending child recruitment must therefore be a central part of any national strategy to protect children.

SAM said that current Yemeni laws, despite containing scattered provisions on child protection, do not provide an integrated framework for addressing crimes of sexual extortion and exploitation of children in conflict contexts. Nor do they include sufficient safeguards to protect victims and witnesses or specialized mechanisms to investigate these sensitive crimes. The legal system also lacks clear provisions that impose stricter responsibility on public officials and members of security and military agencies who exploit their positions to commit violations against children or cover them up.

SAM called on the Yemeni authorities and judicial and legislative bodies to review national laws related to child protection, introduce explicit provisions criminalizing sexual extortion and online exploitation of children, impose harsher penalties when the perpetrator holds authority or influence, and establish safe and confidential reporting mechanisms, specialized investigation units, and psychological, legal, and social support programs for victims.

The organization also called for the protection of children from exploitation, sexual violence, and recruitment to be incorporated into any future paths for transitional justice and reform of security and judicial institutions. It stressed that genuine peace in Yemen cannot be built by ignoring crimes committed against children or by allowing perpetrators to escape accountability.

SAM stated that the silence of victims does not mean the absence of crime, and weak documentation does not mean that reality is innocent. Every child subjected to extortion, exploitation, or recruitment without receiving protection is further evidence that Yemen’s justice system needs radical reform—one that places children’s dignity and safety at the center of any coming peace or reform process.