20m children face online sexual abuse or exploitation in a year: UNICEF

Nearly 20 million children who use the internet experienced sexual abuse or exploitation over a one-year period across 21 countries, according to a new report by UNICEF, with social media identified as the main setting for such incidents.

The report found that more than one in five internet-using children aged 12 to 17 surveyed in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe had experienced at least one form of online sexual abuse or exploitation in the previous year.

Around 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, while nearly nine million were pressured to engage in sexual conversations or send sexual images. Another four million had sexual images shared without their consent, according to UNICEF.

The findings are based on nationally representative surveys of nearly 21,000 internet-using children conducted between 2020 and 2025 across 21 countries, including Kenya, Pakistan, Brazil and Serbia.

About 60 per cent of reported incidents occurred on social media platforms, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok among those identified. Online gaming platforms accounted for around 14 per cent of incidents.

More than half of the perpetrators were known to the children, including friends, relatives and romantic partners. Around 38 per cent of children said they first met the perpetrator online.

Fewer than 1 per cent of incidents were reported to police, social workers or support services, highlighting a major gap in reporting and access to protection.

UNICEF also raised concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence. Data from nine countries showed that around 1.1 million children reported that their images or videos had been used to create sexually explicit content with AI.

Children who experienced technology-facilitated sexual abuse or exploitation were nearly four times more likely than other children to report suicidal thoughts or self-harm and also reported significantly higher levels of anxiety, the report said.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said such experiences can cause profound emotional and psychological distress, while many children suffer in silence because they do not know where to seek help.

The agency called on governments and technology companies to strengthen online safety measures, update laws to address emerging forms of abuse including AI-generated sexual content, and improve child protection and reporting mechanisms.