WORLD – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned of the growing scale of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse against children, estimating that around 20 million children aged 12 to 17 – nearly one in five – experienced at least one form of such abuse in a single year across 21 countries.
The findings were published in a new UNICEF report titled “Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse,” which draws on survey data from around 21,000 internet-using children, as well as in-depth interviews with 100 young people who experienced abuse during childhood.
According to the report, more than 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, while around 9 million were asked to engage in sexual conversations or share sexual images against their will. In addition, sexual images of around 4 million children were shared without their consent.
Social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp, were involved in nearly 60% of cases, while 14% were linked to online games. The report noted that features such as fake accounts and private messaging can be exploited to gain access to children and manipulate their trust.
The findings also challenge the assumption that perpetrators are primarily strangers. In 57% of cases, the perpetrator was someone the child already knew, including friends, romantic partners and family members. Meanwhile, 38% of children first encountered the perpetrator online.
The impact of these abuses extends beyond the digital environment. The analysis found that children who experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse were four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or behaviours and self-harm, while also reporting significantly higher levels of anxiety.
The report also highlighted the extent of underreporting. More than 40% of children did not tell anyone about their experience, while fewer than 1% of cases were reported to authorities, including police, social workers or helplines. The most common reason for remaining silent was not knowing where to seek help or whom to tell.
UNICEF called on governments and technology companies to strengthen child protection measures by making digital platforms safer by design, strengthening laws and regulations against technology-facilitated abuse, improving reporting and support systems, and developing stronger responses to emerging forms of abuse, including sexual extortion and AI-generated sexual abuse material.
The report covers 21 countries and draws on two rounds of research. The first, conducted primarily in 2020 and 2021, covered 12 countries, while the second, conducted in 2024 and 2025, expanded the research to nine additional countries. UNICEF stressed that the survey findings represent internet-using children and therefore do not reflect all children, particularly in countries with lower levels of internet connectivity.
