Nearly one in five children aged 12 to 17 across 21 countries experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year, according to a new UNICEF report, highlighting the growing risks children face in digital spaces.
The report, Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse, estimates that around 20 million children were subjected to unwanted sexual content, sexual conversations, or the non-consensual sharing of sexual images.
The numbers are staggering- according to the report, more than 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content. At the same time, around 9 million were pressured into sexual conversations or asked to share sexual images against their will. An estimated 4 million had sexual images of themselves shared without their consent. UNICEF says the number can actually be much higher because many children do not report their experiences.
Social media was the main setting for abuse. Nearly 60 per cent of reported cases occurred on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp, while 14 per cent took place in online games. Features such as private messaging, fake accounts and other platform functions can be exploited to build trust and facilitate abuse.
The findings also challenge the perception that perpetrators are mostly strangers. In 57 per cent of cases, children knew the person involved, including peers, romantic partners, friends or family members. However, 38 per cent of children first encountered the perpetrator online.
The consequences can be severe. Children who experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation were four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or behaviours and self-harm, and also reported significantly higher levels of anxiety. In some countries, the risks were substantially higher.
Yet most cases remain hidden. More than 40 per cent of incidents were never disclosed to anyone, while fewer than 1 per cent were reported to authorities, such as police, social workers or helplines. The most common reason children remained silent was not knowing whom to approach or where to seek help.
UNICEF is calling for governments and technology companies to make digital platforms safer by design, strengthen laws and accountability, improve reporting and support systems, and ensure that the responsibility for protecting children does not fall on children themselves.
“More than 20 million children” were affected across the countries studied, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, warning that society “cannot look away.”