Digital Abuse Reaches One in Five Children Across 21 Countries

Nearly 60 per cent of recorded cases involved social media services such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp, while online games were connected to 14 per cent of incidents.

An estimated 20 million children aged 12 to 17 experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse within a single year across 21 countries, according to a new UNICEF report that exposes how digital spaces designed for learning, entertainment and friendship are also being used to harm young people. The study, Through Children's Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse, combines children's testimonies with extensive survey data, offering a deeply troubling picture of abuse that moves between online platforms and children's everyday lives.

UNICEF estimates that more than 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, around 9 million were pressured into sexual conversations or asked to share intimate images, and 4 million had sexual images circulated without their consent. These numbers may represent only part of the crisis because many children never disclose what happened, often carrying fear, shame and confusion without knowing where they can safely seek help.

Familiar People and Popular Platforms Drive Much of the Abuse

Nearly 60 per cent of recorded cases involved social media services such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp, while online games were connected to 14 per cent of incidents. Features including private messaging, recommendation systems, anonymous accounts and easy image sharing can be manipulated to build trust, isolate children or distribute abusive material at speed. Social media was involved in more than 80 per cent of reported cases in Montenegro and over half of those documented in Colombia.

The findings also challenge the common belief that the main threat comes from unknown adults hiding online. Around 57 per cent of cases involved someone the child already knew, including a peer, friend, romantic partner or relative, while 38 per cent of children first encountered the person responsible through the internet. Abuse can begin with an existing relationship or develop through fake profiles and private conversations, making it harder for children to recognise manipulation before the situation becomes frightening or coercive.

Emotional Harm Can Continue After the Screen Goes Dark

Children interviewed for the research described feeling shocked, ashamed, isolated and uncertain about what had happened to them, particularly when private images were shared without consent. Digital material can be copied, saved and redistributed repeatedly, leaving survivors with the fear that an image may appear again among classmates, relatives or strangers even after the original account has been blocked or removed.

Children subjected to technology-facilitated exploitation were four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts, suicidal behaviour or self-harm, while anxiety levels were also considerably higher. The risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviours was more than eight times greater among affected children in Mexico and North Macedonia, and the reported risk of self-harm was over seven times higher in Pakistan.

More than 40 per cent of cases were never disclosed to another person, and fewer than 1 per cent were reported to police, social workers, helplines or other authorities. Many children remained silent because they did not know where to go, feared being blamed or worried that adults would punish them by removing access to their devices. In Armenia, more than half of reported experiences were never shared with anyone.

Protection Must Be Built Into the Digital World

UNICEF is calling for digital services to be made safer from the beginning through stronger privacy settings for children, limits on unsolicited adult contact, safer recommendation systems and more effective tools for detecting and reporting abuse. Technology companies also need clear responsibilities for preventing exploitation rather than expecting children to identify every danger and protect themselves inside systems they did not design.

Governments need updated laws and stronger enforcement capable of addressing sexual extortion, non-consensual image sharing and AI-generated sexual abuse material. Trusted reporting routes must be connected to child protection, healthcare, counselling, justice and social services so that a disclosure leads to meaningful support rather than disbelief, punishment or further trauma.

Families, schools and communities have an equally important role in responding calmly when children speak about abuse, making it clear that responsibility always lies with the perpetrator. Wider work is also needed to reduce economic vulnerabilities, challenge the sexualisation of girls, confront gender-based discrimination and end the stigma placed on survivors. Children should be able to learn, play and form friendships online without being left to carry the burden of digital safety alone.