As many as ۲۰ million children in ۲۱ countries have experienced online sexual abuse or exploitation each year, according to new findings from the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF.
More than one in five children aged ۱۲ to ۱۷ in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe have been targeted on digital platforms, according to the UNICEF report released on Thursday.
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Researchers surveyed ۲۱,۰۰۰ children aged ۱۲ to ۱۷ who used the internet across ۲۱ countries between ۲۰۲۰ and ۲۰۲۱, and then again between ۲۰۲۴ and ۲۰۲۵. They also conducted in-depth interviews with ۱۰۰ young people who have experienced childhood abuse.
Social media facilitated more than half of the abuse cases, according to UNICEF, which cautioned that figures could be inaccurate due to underreporting by children. Less than ۱ per cent of all abusive incidents were reported to authorities, the researchers found.
Last week, US social media giant Meta agreed to a landmark $۱۸bn settlement in a major US federal case accusing the company of endangering children. Meta has faced an avalanche of legal cases this year, most arguing that it has deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive and that they have harmed children. The company has now agreed to make major changes to the features of its social media platforms.
What are the key findings of the UNICEF report?
The report estimated that in the periods studied, more than ۱۵ million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, nine million were asked to engage in sexual conversations or share sexual images against their will, and four million children had sexual images of themselves shared without their consent.
UNICEF said the issue is compounded by the fact that children often don’t recognise abuse or know who to report it to, and fear repercussions if they do. Formal systems can feel distant, complex or intimidating, the report noted.
“The report reveals a painful reality. More than ۲۰ 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.”
Where was data collected?
Information for the report was based on nationally representative survey data collected between ۲۰۲۰ and ۲۰۲۵ from approximately ۲۱,۰۰۰ internet-using children from the following countries:
- Eastern and South Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda
- Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Mexico
- Eastern Europe: Armenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia
- South Asia: Pakistan
Where are children being abused?
Abuse often begins in public spaces, such as in schools or local neighbourhoods, before moving to digital spaces which can further facilitate harm.
Social media and messaging platforms enable different stages of abuse, “including initial contact, relationship-building, sexual solicitation, image-sharing, coercion, blackmail and the continued circulation of sexual content”, the report said.
Sometimes abuse takes place solely online.
According to the report’s findings, more than ۶۰ percent of cases occurred on social media platforms, with the majority on Facebook (۵۰ percent), WhatsApp (۲۹ percent), Instagram (۲۴ percent), SnapChat (۱۳ percent) and TikTok (۱۲ percent).
Do children report abuse?
Most children do not seek help if they are being abused. Less than one percent of cases are reported to the police, a social worker or a helpline, while more than four in ۱۰ cases not being disclosed to anyone at all.
“Children are not failing to report; they have correctly worked out that there is nowhere to report to,” Nighat Dad, executive director of the Pakistan-based Digital Rights Foundation, told Al Jazeera.
Dad, whose NGO works to provide safe online spaces in Pakistan, noted that incidents repeatedly occur online because of a “design problem – the message request, the move to a private chat, the reshare, the ability to return after being blocked”.
Many children minimise their experiences or do not recognise when they’ve been abused, she said.
Even when children do speak out, to a close friend, sibling, or parent, doing so may not necessarily stop the abuse or bring perpetrators to account.
UNICEF emphasised that its research interviews were the first time many of the children it interviewed had spoken to someone about the abuse they were subjected to.
Dad also cautioned that Pakistan, for example, is a “low-disclosure country” where notions of family “honour” and other cultural barriers prevent children from disclosing the harm they’ve experienced.
“A girl who speaks risks her phone, her schooling and sometimes her safety, and a boy is expected to cope in silence,” Dad said.
How does gender factor into online abuse?
Perpetrators often play on gender norms when exploiting children. Stigma and blame are used against girls to keep them silent, while boys are expected to cope alone, or threatened by perpetrators.
“Peer cultures and harmful norms around gender or masculinity can further normalise behaviours that cause significant harm, making abuse harder to recognise and address,” UNICEF noted.
What kind of impact does online sexual abuse have on children?
The repercussions are severe, UNICEF said: Children exposed to technology-facilitated sexual abuse and exploitation are four times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to self-harm, along with higher levels of anxiety.
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 more than seven times higher than average, the report found.
Abuse extends well beyond the digital sphere, seeping into children’s everyday lives, schooling and relationships.
What should be done about this?
UNICEF said the onus to protect children online must be placed on governments and technology companies, which must change how online spaces are designed and regulated.
It also highlighted that while children often take steps to protect each other, societies, schools and families must work to shift the burden of protection away from children.
Citing Meta’s recent settlement, Dad acknowledged that design changes, such as better age verification and parental controls, can and should happen.
“For years those of us working outside the US were told these defaults would break the product. Meta has now shown the product can change.”
A spokesperson for Meta told Al Jazeera, “This report is based on surveys from as far back as ۲۰۲۰, before we introduced the protections UNICEF recommends, like automatically defaulting teens into private accounts and preventing adults from messaging teens they’re not connected to.
“While the report doesn’t provide any specific evidence of abuse, we’ll continue to fight child exploitation aggressively across our apps and support law enforcement in prosecuting the criminals behind it.”
The spokesperson also pointed out that Meta-owned WhatsApp is a private messaging service rather than a social media platform. “We don’t have algorithms that make a piece of content more or less likely to be viewed, and you need someone’s phone number or exact username to connect with them for the first time.”
Snapchat and TikTok have not responded to requests for comment for Al Jazeera.
