An estimated 20 million children aged 12 to 17 – almost 1 in 5 – were subjected to at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse in a single year across 21 countries, according to a new report released by UNICEF today.
Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse combines children’s testimonies with one of the largest bodies of available survey data to warn of a widespread trend of child sexual abuse and exploitation – both online and offline – enabled by technology.
The report estimates that over 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, 9 million were asked to engage in sexual conversations or share sexual images against their will, and 4 million children had sexual images of themselves shared without their consent. However, the true scale of the issue is likely far higher due to underreporting by children.
“The report reveals a painful reality. More than 20 million children across the countries studied were subjected to unwanted explicit sexual content or exploitation online, often in the digital spaces where they learn, play, and connect with friends,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “These experiences cause profound emotional and mental distress. Many children suffer in silence, unsure where to turn for help. We cannot look away.”
According to the findings, nearly 60 per cent of cases took place on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and WhatsApp, and 14 per cent of cases happened in online games, with the platforms’ features, functions, and design used to exploit trust, the report notes. In Montenegro, more than 80 per cent of reported cases involved social media platforms, while in Colombia they were linked to more than half of cases.
Across the countries surveyed, 57 per cent of cases involved someone the child already knew, including peers, romantic partners, friends, and family members, challenging assumptions that online abuse is primarily perpetrated by strangers. At the same time, 38 per cent of children first encountered the perpetrator online, with evidence showing how abuse is facilitated through fake accounts and private messaging features, for example.
Technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse can have a profound impact on children’s emotional well-being, sense of safety, and trust in others. The experiences described by children during research interviews often focused on fear, shame, confusion, and isolation, with many struggling to understand what had happened or where to seek help.
“I didn’t know how to react… I felt a little in shock,” said a young woman from the Dominican Republic, after private images were circulated without her consent at the age of 14. Another research participant, reflecting on a similar experience, said she felt “like the most used, the dirtiest, the worst person.”
Children subjected to tech-facilitated exploitation were four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or behaviours and self-harm, and reported significantly higher levels of anxiety, according to the analysis. In Mexico or North Macedonia, for example, the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviours was more than eight times higher among children who experienced abuse, while in Pakistan the risk of self-harm was over seven times higher.
More than 40 per cent of cases of tech-facilitated abuse were never shared with anyone, while fewer than 1 per cent were reported to authorities such as the police, social workers, or helplines. Globally, the most common reason children remained silent was not knowing where to go or who to tell. In some surveyed countries, non-disclosure rates were even higher, including in Armenia, where more than half of cases were never shared with anyone.
The findings point to an urgent need for action by governments, technology companies, and other stakeholders to better protect children in the digital age. The report calls for urgent action to:
• Make digital platforms safer by design, with stronger privacy protections for children, restrictions on unsolicited contact from adults, safer recommender systems, and better detection and reporting of abuse.
• Strengthen laws, regulation and accountability, ensuring governments have the tools and enforcement measures to address evolving forms of abuse, including sexual extortion and AI-generated sexual abuse material.
• Build reporting and support systems children can trust, including investment in child protection, health, justice and social services.
• Shift the burden of protection away from children, ensuring families, schools and communities respond to disclosures with support and help children seek assistance safely.
• Reduce the economic vulnerabilities perpetrators exploit through stronger family support and expanded education and employment opportunities for children and young people.
• Address the social and gender norms that normalise the sexualisation of girls and stigmatise survivors of sexual violence.
“All of us, including governments and technology companies, must do more to protect children online,” said Russell. (UNICEF)
