GENEVA: About 20 million internet-using children across 21 countries were subjected to sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year, with most cases occurring on social media platforms, a new report by Unicef said on Thursday.
More than one in five children aged 12 to 17 across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe experienced at least one form of sexual abuse or exploitation on online platforms in the year before being surveyed, the Unicef report estimated.
Roughly 15m children in the surveyed countries were exposed to unwanted sexual content, 9m were pressured into sexual conversations or sharing sexual images, and 4m had sexual images shared without their consent.
The global number is certain to run into many tens of millions, it said.
Children who experienced tech-facilitated sexual exploitation were around four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or self-harm and had significantly higher anxiety levels, the research said.
Unicef study finds social media platforms account for nearly 60pc of reported cases
“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.
The research, described by Unicef as one of the largest studies of its kind, was based on nationally representative surveys collected between 2020 and 2025 of around 21,000 internet-using children in countries including Pakistan, Kenya, Brazil and Serbia.
Almost 60 per cent of reported abuse occurred on social media platforms — led by Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok — while 14pc took place in online gaming.
The report said more than half the cases involved someone the child already knew, while 38pc first encountered the perpetrator online. Fewer than 1pc of cases were reported to police, a social worker or a helpline.
A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said the surveys date back to 2020, before the company introduced protections Unicef recommends. “While the report doesn’t provide any specific evidence of abuse, we’ll continue to fight child exploitation aggressively across our apps,” the Meta spokesperson said.
Snapchat pointed to a blog post stating the company actively combats online sexual extortion through proactive detection and safety features. TikTok said it has safeguards to protect minors.
The report highlighted growing concerns over artificial intelligence. Across nine countries, an estimated 1.1m children reported having AI-generated sexual images or videos created depicting them.
Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2026
