A/HRC/30/59 E. Women and children 64. In his report of 23 March 2015 on conflict-related sexual violence (S/2015/203), the Secretary-General stated that, in 2014, a total of 2,527 cases of conflict -related sexual violence had been reported in the Central African Republic. This violence included rape perpetrated to terrorize civilians, with many victims being assaulted in their homes or while sheltering in fields or in the bush. According to the report, the alleged perpetrators are associated with armed herders from Fulani Mbarara communities or members of the former Sélékaanti-balaka, Révolution et justice or Front démocratique du peuple centrafricain armed groups (para. 14). 65. The report notes that the number of cases of sexual violence seems to have declined since the end of open hostilities, especially in response to the presence of international troops, namely the MINUSCA, Sangaris and EUFOR forces. However, such violence still persists in the most remote parts of the count ry, such as mining and border areas. Moreover, the absence of State services, such as health -care and social services, means that victims do not have access to proper care, including post exposure prophylaxis to prevent the transmission of HIV (para. 15). 66. The Independent Expert encourages the transitional Government to adopt, without delay, the decree on establishing a joint rapid response unit to combat sexual violence. 67. The Independent Expert is also alarmed by reports of Fulani civilians — mostly women and girls — being kept as slaves, and in some cases as sex slaves, by antibalaka fighters. Some 40 Fulani were reportedly held hostage for about 14 months. 11 In April 2015, MINUSCA intervened and freed about 30 of the hostages. The Expert urges the anti-balaka to release all the remaining hostages and urges the authorities to bring those responsible to justice. 68. Even before the crisis, the Central African Republic had the third highest maternal mortality rate in the world. One in three women never sees a health-care provider during her pregnancy, and one in two gives birth without any qualified birth attendants. Though there are no recent statistics available, organizations believe that the situation has worsened since the start of the crisis. 69. Regarding the situation of children, the humanitarian community estimates that more than 32,000 children in the Central African Republic will suffer from severe malnutrition and 78,000 from moderate malnutrition in 2015. 70. The demobilization of child soldiers, which had already begun in 2014, saw significant progress in May 2015 following the Bangui Forum and the agreement signed by 10 armed groups on laying down their arms, renouncing armed struggle as a means of imposing political demands, and releasing the children among their ranks. In 2014, a total of 2,807 children were removed from armed groups in the Central African Republic, including 2,374 from anti-balaka groups and 460 from the former Séléka factions. On 14 May 2015, 357 children were released i n Bambari by antibalaka militia and former Séléka fighters. The United Nations Children ’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have established family reunification programmes, psychological counselling and community reintegration programmes. 71. Save the Children recently published a study 12 showing that nearly two thirds of school-age children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the __________________ 11 12 14/22 www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/22/central-african-republic-muslims-held-captive-raped. Save the Children, Évaluation des besoins psychologiques des enfants d’âge scolaire dans les localités de Bangui et de la Ouaka, République centrafricaine, mars 2015 (Psychological needs assessment of school-age children in the towns of Bangui and Ouaka, Central African Republic, GE.15-12489