ABOUT 20 million children across 21 countries experienced sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year, with almost 60% of reported cases occurring on social media, a UNICEF report has found.
More than one in five children aged 12 to 17 surveyed across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe experienced at least one form of sexual abuse or exploitation online in the year before they were surveyed, according to the United Nations children's agency.
UNICEF said the findings were based on nationally representative surveys conducted between 2020 and 2025 involving about 21,000 internet-using children in 21 countries, including Kenya, Pakistan, Brazil and Serbia.
Reuters cited the report estimated that about 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, while nine million were pressured into sexual conversations or sharing sexual images.
Another four million had sexual images shared without their consent.
UNICEF said the global number of children subjected to online sexual abuse was certain to run into many tens of millions.
Social media platforms were the main setting for the reported abuse, accounting for almost 60% of cases, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok among the platforms most frequently identified.
About 14% of cases occurred in online gaming environments.
The report found that more than half of the incidents involved someone the child already knew, including friends, relatives or romantic partners, while 38% of children said they first encountered the perpetrator online.
Fewer than 1% of cases involving children were reported to police, social workers or helplines, highlighting the scale of abuse that remains hidden from authorities.
Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said the surveys covered periods dating back to 2020, before the company introduced some of the child-safety measures recommended by UNICEF.
“While the report doesn't provide any specific evidence of abuse, we'll continue to fight child exploitation aggressively across our apps and support law enforcement in prosecuting the criminals behind it,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Snapchat said it was actively combating online sexual extortion through proactive detection, account removals, user reporting tools and safety features aimed at protecting vulnerable users.
TikTok said it had introduced safeguards for minors, including restricting certain features for younger users, making accounts belonging to those under 18 private by default and using technology to detect potentially predatory behaviour.
UNICEF also warned of the growing threat posed by artificial intelligence, saying an estimated 1.1 million children across nine countries where data was collected reported having AI-generated sexual images or videos created depicting them.
Children who experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation were about four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or self-harm and reported significantly higher levels of anxiety than their peers.
“These experiences cause profound emotional and mental distress. Many children suffer in silence, unsure where to turn for help,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.
UNICEF called on governments and technology companies to strengthen safeguards on digital platforms, update laws to address emerging forms of abuse, including AI-generated sexual content, and improve child protection and reporting systems. - September 3, 2026
