More than 100 girls have been raped in Ethiopia by their relatives during the lockdown, authorities said.

According to reports from Walta TV, Ethiopia authorities in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, have said more than 100 girls were raped since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic as schools closed and people were advised to stay at home to reduce the spread of the virus.

Data from hospitals suggest more than 100 children have been raped – including some by family members, BBC reports.

Almaz Abraham, the head of Addis Ababa women and children affairs office, reacting to the report, said sexual violence was on the rise as schools had been closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“One-hundred-and-one girls were raped in the past two months after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The problem is that, unlike when schools were open, the attacks are not being exposed until the girls get pregnant. Maybe, there would be chances of stopping it from reaching to that stage if the girls were going to school,” she said.

“Men who used to practise different habits outside their homes are now doing them to their children when they stay at home,” she added.

An official from the city’s children and women’s affairs office told the BBC that victims were being treated in three facilities across the city.