A/77/143 verified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, the Lake Chad basin and Burkina Faso. Rape and other forms of sexual violence increased by 20 per cent, with 1,326 children, including 28 boys, affected. Most incidents of sexual violence occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Nigeria. Rape and other forms of sexual violence against boys and girls continued to be used as a tactic of war, but remained chronically underreported owing to protection concerns, fear of reprisal or rejection, stigma, weak rule of law and lack of appropriate response and services, among other factors. 6. Attacks on schools (475) and hospitals (397) continued to severely undermine children’s access and right to education and health and remained particularly high. The highest figures were verified in Mali, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Schools and hospitals were bombed, destroyed or damaged by shelling, loot ed and/or used for military purposes and were consequently temporarily or permanently closed. Protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals were abducted, threatened, detained, injured or even killed, with the situation exacerbated by the COVID -19 pandemic. 7. In general, as in previous years, grave violations affected boys and girls differently. Whereas 85 per cent of children recruited and used were boys, 83 per cent of sexual violence was perpetrated against girls. Grave violations affecting boys decreased compared with the previous year, while killing and maiming, sexual violence and abduction targeting girls increased in 2021. 8. In the first quarter of 2022, armed confrontations, intercommunal conflict, military operations, insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a heavy impact on conflict-affected children. While a slight decrease in the overall number of verified grave violations was observed in the first quarter of 2022, cases of abduction continued to increase at a concerning rate compared with the last quarter of 2021. The highest numbers of abductions continued to be verified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by Burkina Faso and Somalia. The killing and maiming of children was the most-verified grave violation during that period, followed by recruitment and use and the denial of humanitarian access to children, all of which continued to be of significant concern. B. Addressing gendered impacts of armed conflict on children 9. Since the inception of the children and armed conflict mandate twenty-five years ago, strong and recurrent evidence across conflict situations has shown that boys and girls experience conflict differently. Among other identity factors, such as age, ethnicity and race, the gender inequality context and harmful social norms play a determining factor in how children are exposed and subjected to violations and abuses by parties to conflict. Children’s vulnerabilities to conflict-related violence vary depending on socioeconomic norms and practices, resulting in distinct impacts for girls and boys and, consequently, requiring distinct protection and prevention responses. Analysing the gender dimension of grave violations against children is thus crucial for the implementation of the children and armed conflict mandate. Not only is it relevant, in order to inform the reports of the Secretary -General on children and armed conflict, but it is critical, in order to inform a gender-sensitive programmatic response by organizations operating on the ground for survivors of grave violations and their communities, as well as to guide advocacy efforts and develop appropriate tools to prevent violations. The Office of the Special Representative therefore launched a study, in 2021, on the gender dimensions of grave violations against children in armed conflict. 22-11806 3/17