Story highlights Prevalence of exploitation found in Haiti, Liberia, DRC, Sudan and South Sudan

"Transactional sex," or trading of favors for sex, is underreported, U.N. report says

Assistance for victims said to be poor, report says

(CNN) They are supposed to bring peace, stability and hope.

But too often, according to a U.N. report, international peacekeepers bring other things entirely -- sexual exploitation, the misuse of power and the abuse of children.

The report, issued last week, says that while the violations have diminished since 2010, too many international peacekeepers sexually exploit the people they are sent to protect.

And more than a third of all allegations involve sex with minors.

The report says, too, that evidence shows instances of "transactional sex" -- the trading of favors for sex, which is a misuse of power banned by the United Nations -- are common, and are generally underreported.

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