Akm Shehabuddin Kisslu: About 20 million internet-using children across 21 countries were subjected to sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year, with most cases occurring on social media platforms, a new report by the U.N. children’s charity said on Thursday. The number of children subjected to this abuse globally is certain to run into many tens of millions, it said.
The research, which UNICEF described as one of the largest studies of its kind, was based on national representative surveys collected between 2020 and 2025 of around 21,000 internet-using children in the 21 countries, which included Kenya, Pakistan, Brazil and Serbia.
Children who experienced tech-facilitated sexual exploitation were around four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or self-harm and reported significantly higher levels of anxiety than their peers, the research said.
“These experiences cause profound emotional and mental distress. Many children suffer in silence, unsure where to turn for help,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
UNICEF urged governments and technology companies to strengthen safety measures on digital platforms, update laws to address evolving forms of abuse including AI-generated content, and improve child protection and reporting systems.
“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.”
The report also highlighted growing concerns over artificial intelligence. Across nine countries where data was collected, an estimated 1.1 million children reported having AI-generated sexual images or videos created depicting them.
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.
More than one in five children aged 12 to 17 across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe experienced at least one form of sexual abuse or exploitation on online platforms in the year before being surveyed, the UNICEF report estimated.
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.
The UNICEF report said more than half the cases involved someone the child already knew, including friends, relatives or romantic partners, while 38% of children first encountered the perpetrator online.
More than 40 per cent of cases of tech-facilitated abuse were never shared with anyone, while less than 1 per cent was reported to authorities such as the police, social workers, or helplines report said. Globally, the most common reason children remained silent did not know 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 report’s 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 normalize 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 UNICEF Executive Director Russell.
