Through Children's Eyes
How digital technologies enable child sexual abuse
Highlights
Across 21 countries, an estimated 20 million children aged 12 to 17 – about 1 in 5 of the internet-using children in these countries – were sexually exploited or abused through digital technologies in a single year.
They were targeted on digital platforms they used every day, sometimes by someone they already knew, and sometimes by someone they first met online. Many of these children did not seek help: less than 1 per cent of cases were reported to the police, a social worker or a helpline, and more than 4 in 10 cases were disclosed to no one at all.
Children subjected to these forms of abuse were four times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and behaviours, four times more likely to self-harm and reported anxiety levels around 11 percentage points higher than their peers. The associations are deeply concerning, and these profound impacts can extend well beyond the immediate incident, affecting children’s schooling, relationships and everyday lives.
Through Children's Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse combines children’s testimonies with one of the largest bodies of available survey data to warn of a widespread trend of child sexual abuse and exploitation – both online and offline – enabled by technology.
