UNICEF says 20 million children faced online sexual abuse in one year
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says around 20 million children in 21 countries were exposed to at least one case of online sexual abuse or exploitation over the course of a year, an occurrence most often recorded on social media.
According to the report, more than one in five children aged 12 to 17 in the countries surveyed in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe had such an experience. UNICEF said the true scale of the crisis worldwide is likely to run into tens of millions of children.
The report says about 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content. A further 9 million children were pressured into sexual conversations or sending sexual images, while sexual images of nearly 4 million children were shared without their consent.
UNICEF says nearly 60% of these cases occurred on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. About 14% of incidents were also recorded in online games.
The report shows that in more than half of cases, the abuser was someone the child already knew, such as a friend, family member or romantic partner. In 38% of cases, the child encountered the abuser online for the first time.
UNICEF’s findings also point to a strikingly low rate of reporting. According to the report, fewer than 1% of these cases were reported to police, social workers or helplines.
UNICEF also warned about the spread of abuse using artificial intelligence. In nine countries, around 1.1 million children said fake sexual images or videos had been created using AI and featuring their faces.
According to the report, children who faced online sexual abuse were about four times more likely than other children to report suicidal thoughts or self-harm, and their levels of anxiety were also higher. Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, said many children are left under severe psychological pressure after these experiences and suffer in silence.
UNICEF has called on governments and technology companies to strengthen child protection measures, update laws on online abuse and AI-generated content, and improve support and reporting mechanisms. The research was compiled from surveys of around 21,000 internet-using children in 21 countries, including Pakistan, Kenya, Brazil and Serbia, between 2020 and 2025, and is described as one of the largest studies of its kind.
