A report by Save the Children United Kingdom alleges that child sex abuse is prevalent among United Nations peacekeepers and international aid workers in war and disaster-afflicted countries, reports Associated Press.

The report was based on field research in Haiti, the Ivory Coast, and southern Sudan and says some victims were as young as six years old.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has promised an investigation into the allegations.

Michele Montas, a United Nations spokeswoman, said of the report, “It’s fair, and I think it’s essentially accurate.”

She says the organization has taken measures to decrease abuse through establishing codes of conduct and discipline in United Nations missions and increasing training.

“A tiny proportion of peacekeepers and aid workers are abusing the children they were sent to protect,” Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children United Kingdom, said. “It ranges from sex for food to coerced sex. It’s despicable.”