A new UNICEF report has found that around 20 million children who use the internet across 21 countries experienced sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year.
The findings suggest the scale of online abuse against children is far greater than previously documented. It also found that more than one in five internet-using children aged 12 to 17 surveyed across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe reported at least one form of sexual abuse or exploitation.
Social media platforms accounted for almost 60 per cent of reported cases, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok among the platforms most frequently identified in the research.
A further 14 per cent of cases took place through online gaming.
UNICEF estimated that about 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, while 9 million were pressured into sexual conversations or sharing sexual images. Another 4 million had sexual images shared without their consent.
The charity said the true global figure is likely to reach many tens of millions of children.
The study was based on nationally representative surveys carried out between 2020 and 2025 involving around 21,000 internet-using children in 21 countries, including Kenya, Pakistan, Brazil and Serbia.
The report found that online abuse does not always come from strangers.
More than half of the cases involved someone the child already knew, including friends, relatives or romantic partners. In 38 per cent of cases, children said they first encountered the perpetrator online.
Yet very few incidents were formally reported. UNICEF said fewer than 1 per cent of cases reached the police, a social worker or a helpline.
Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said some of the surveys dated back to 2020, before it introduced several protections recommended by UNICEF.
The company said it was continuing efforts to combat child exploitation and assist law enforcement. It also disputed the report's classification of WhatsApp as a social media platform, describing it instead as a private messaging service.
Snapchat said it was tackling online sexual extortion through measures including proactive detection, account removals and user reporting tools.
TikTok said it had introduced safeguards for younger users, including private accounts by default for under-18s and technology designed to detect potentially predatory behaviour.
UNICEF also raised concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence to create sexual material involving children.
Across nine countries where data was collected, around 1.1 million children said AI-generated sexual images or videos had been created depicting them.
The report also found a serious impact on children's mental wellbeing. Those who experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation were around four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or self-harm and also reported significantly higher levels of anxiety.
“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 is urging governments and technology companies to strengthen safeguards on digital platforms and improve systems for reporting abuse.
It also called for laws to keep pace with new forms of exploitation, including AI-generated sexual content, and for stronger support systems to help children report abuse and access protection.
The charity said the findings underline the need for action as children spend an increasing share of their lives online.
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