UNICEF has revealed that approximately 20 million children who use the internet across 21 countries were subjected to sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms within a single year. The majority of these incidents took place on social media networks.
The study found that more than 20% of children aged 12 to 17 surveyed across regions including Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe encountered at least one form of online sexual abuse or exploitation in the year prior to the survey.
This extensive research, one of the largest of its kind, was conducted through nationally representative surveys between 2020 and 2025, involving around 21,000 internet-using children from countries such as Pakistan, Kenya, Brazil, and Serbia.
Findings indicate that nearly 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, about 9 million were coerced into sexual conversations or pressured to share sexual images, and 4 million had their sexual images shared without consent.
UNICEF emphasized that the global number of children affected by such abuse is likely to be significantly higher, reaching many tens of millions.
Nearly 60% of the reported abuse occurred on social media platforms, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok being the most prominent. Additionally, 14% of abuse cases took place within online gaming environments.
In response, a Meta spokesperson noted that the surveys date back to 2020, prior to the implementation of safety measures recommended by UNICEF, such as setting teens’ accounts to private by default and restricting adult-to-teen messaging unless connected. The spokesperson also clarified that WhatsApp is categorized as a private messaging app rather than a social media platform.
Meta affirmed its ongoing commitment to combating child exploitation and supporting law enforcement efforts to prosecute offenders, despite the report lacking specific evidence of abuse on their platforms.
Snapchat highlighted its proactive efforts against online sexual extortion, including detection technologies, account removals, user reporting tools, and safety features aimed at protecting vulnerable users.
TikTok outlined its safeguards for minors, which include limiting certain features for younger users, defaulting under-18 accounts to private, and employing technology to identify potentially predatory behavior.
The report also revealed that over half of the abuse cases involved perpetrators known to the child, such as friends, relatives, or romantic partners, while 38% of children first met the abuser online.
Alarmingly, less than 1% of these cases were reported to authorities, social workers, or helplines.
In a significant development, the report raised concerns about artificial intelligence, noting that in nine countries surveyed, approximately 1.1 million children reported having AI-generated sexual images or videos depicting them.
Children who experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation were about four times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or engage in self-harm and reported considerably higher levels of anxiety compared to their peers.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stressed the profound emotional and mental distress caused by these experiences, noting that many children suffer silently without knowing where to seek help.
UNICEF called on governments and technology companies to enhance safety protocols on digital platforms, update legislation to address emerging forms of abuse including AI-generated content, and improve child protection and reporting mechanisms.
