(CNN)With more than a third of Somalia's population now facing starvation, new statistics show that in addition to hunger, many women in Somalia are at risk for being raped.
The reported cases of rape and sexual violence in drought-affected areas are on the rise, in what UNICEF calls another troubling consequence of the crisis.
It is a part of what one UN official is calling the world's largest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II.
Between November and March, UNICEF and partners responded to about 300 cases of rape, sexual assault and gender related violence on average each month. In June, however, the number tripled, with 909 reported cases. So far, that's the highest number of reported cases in a single month in 2017.
"Gender-based violence was an issue before the current drought in Somalia, but we see with the current drought the way it has increased," says Jean Lokenga, head of UNICEF Child Protection in Somalia.
Many people in Somalia have been displaced because of the drought, forced to look for food and resources elsewhere as a means of survival. As of last November, the number of displaced people in Somalia has surpassed 700,000.
