Thousands of children have been subjected to rape and sexual violence in conflict-battered eastern Congo over the course of two months, the UN children's agency said Friday, warning that existing funding gaps meant that hundreds of thousands were deprived of protection. Children make up between 35% to 45% of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence reported January and February this year, James Elder, the spokesperson for UNICEF told reporters in Geneva on Friday.