UNICEF: 1 in 5 Children Face Online Sexual Abuse

By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UNICEF on Thursday released a report stated that 20 million children aged 12 to 17 at least 1 in 5 ratio across 21 countries were sexually exploited by perpetrators using technology such as social media.

The report said that over 15 million children in this age group 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 had sexual images of themselves shared without their consent.

UNICEF said the total figures are likely much higher.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said “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.”

It said that 60% of all recorded instances of exploitation in the report occurred on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp, and 14% can happened on online games, with the platforms’ features often used to exploit trust.

The report indicated that some 38% of children first encountered the perpetrators online, and evidence shows abuse is often facilitated through intentional features that allow perpetrators to hide their identities.

In Montenegro, more than 80% of reported cases involved social media.

UNICEF stated that across the 21 countries, 57% of exploitation cases involved perpetrators the children knew, including peers, friends and family.

Children who endured sexual exploitation described impacts on their emotional wellbeing, sense of safety and trust in others, including fear, shame, confusion and isolation in interviews with researchers.

“I didn’t know how to react I felt a little in shock,” said a young woman from the Dominican Republic after private images were circulated without her consent at age 14.

According to the analysis children who experienced technology-aided sexual exploitation were four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or behaviors and self-harm and reported significantly higher levels of anxiety.

In Pakistan, the risk of self-harm was more than seven times higher for children who had been exploited.

Over 40 per cent of cases of tech-facilitated abuse were never shared with anyone, while fewer than one per cent were reported to authorities.

The most common reason was children not knowing who to tell.

Ms. Russell said “These experiences cause profound emotional and mental distress”.

“Many children suffer in silence, unsure where to turn for help. We cannot look away.”

“All of us, including governments and technology companies, must do more to protect children online,” Ms. Russell said.

The researchers issued calls for help to prevent abuse, UNICEF said:

The report stressed that tech companies should include stronger protections for children and improve their reporting systems

Governments should strengthen accountability and enforcement mechanisms, it added

UNICEF report demanded that societies should address harmful gender norms that normalize the sexualization of girls and stigmatize survivors of sexual violence.