A new UNICEF report warns that nearly 1 in 5 children aged 12-17 across 21 countries experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year. This amounts to about 20 million children, highlighting the growing risks children face while using digital platforms. Nearly 60% of cases occurred on mainstream social media platforms such as …
A new UNICEF report warns that nearly 1 in 5 children aged 12-17 across 21 countries experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year. This amounts to about 20 million children, highlighting the growing risks children face while using digital platforms. Nearly 60% of cases occurred on mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and WhatsApp, while 14% happened through online games. More than 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content and about 4 million had sexual images shared without consent. The report also found that 57 % of perpetrators were people children already knew. UNICEF urges governments and tech companies to strengthen child safety measures, privacy protections, and safeguards against AI-enabled abuse.
