About 20 million children who use the internet across 21 countries experienced sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year, with social media accounting for most reported cases, according to a new report by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Funds (UNICEF).
The report found that more than one in five children aged 12 to 17 in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe experienced at least one form of sexual exploitation or abuse online during the year before they took part in the survey.
Around 15 million children encountered unwanted sexual content, while nine million faced pressure to engage in sexual conversations or share sexual images. Another four million had sexual images shared without their consent, according to the findings.
UNICEF said that the global number of children subjected to technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse would certainly reach many tens of millions.
The research, described by UNICEF as one of the largest studies of its kind, drew on nationally representative surveys conducted between 2020 and 2025. Around 21,000 internet-using children in 21 countries took part, including children from Pakistan, Kenya, Brazil and Serbia.
Almost 60 percent of reported cases took place on social media platforms, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok accounting for most of the reported incidents. Online gaming accounted for another 14 percent.
Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said that the surveys included data going back to 2020, before the company introduced some of the protections recommended by UNICEF.
A Meta spokesperson said that the company now automatically defaults teens into private accounts and prevents adults from messaging teens they are not connected to. The company also added that it considers WhatsApp a private messaging service rather than a social media platform.
TikTok stated that it had introduced safeguards for minors, including restrictions on certain features for younger users. The platform also said that accounts belonging to users under 18 remain private by default and that it uses technology to detect potentially predatory behaviour.
The UNICEF report found that more than half of the cases involved someone the child already knew, including friends, relatives or romantic partners. In 38 percent of cases, children first encountered the perpetrator online.
Fewer than one percent of cases involving children reached the police, a social worker or a helpline, according to the research.
The report also examined the use of artificial intelligence in sexual abuse involving children. Across nine countries where researchers collected data, an estimated 1.1 million children said that someone had created AI-generated sexual images or videos depicting them.
UNICEF called on governments and technology companies to strengthen safety measures on digital platforms, update laws to cover evolving forms of abuse including AI-generated sexual content, and improve systems for child protection and reporting.
