1 in 5 children across 21 countries have experienced tech-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse – UNICEF

NEW YORK/HA NOI, 3 September 2026 – An estimated 20 million children aged 12 to 17 – almost 1 in 5 – were subjected to at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse in a single year across 21 countries, according to a new report released by UNICEF today.  

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.  

The report estimates that over 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content; 9 million were asked to engage in sexual conversations, or share sexual images against their will; and 4 million children had sexual images of themselves shared without their consent. The true scale of the challenge is likely far bigger due to underreporting by children.  

“The report reveals a painful reality. More than 20 million children across the countries studied were subjected to unwanted explicit sexual content or exploitation online, often in the digital spaces where they learn, play, and connect with friends," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "These experiences cause profound emotional and mental distress. Many children suffer in silence, unsure where to turn for help. We cannot look away.” 

“The findings also reveal that too many children continue to suffer in silence. Protecting children in the digital age requires stronger safeguards on digital platforms, robust laws and child-friendly services, and trusted reporting mechanisms that children can access safely and with confidence.” said Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Viet Nam. “In Viet Nam, the Government has taken important steps to strengthen child protection in the digital environment through legal and policy reforms, while UNICEF and partners continue to support implementation efforts to ensure that laws, services, and digital systems keep pace with emerging online risks to children.” 

According to the report findings, nearly 60 per cent of cases took place on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and WhatsApp. Around 14 per cent of cases related to children’s interactions in online games, with the platforms’ features, functions, and design used to exploit trust, the report notes. In Viet Nam, more than 56 per cent of reported technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse incidents involved social media platforms, highlighting the critical role these online spaces play in both children's daily lives and their potential exposure to online harm.  

Across the countries surveyed, 57 per cent of cases involved someone the child already knew, including peers, romantic partners, friends, and family members, challenging assumptions that online abuse is primarily perpetrated by strangers. At the same time, 38 per cent of children first encountered their perpetrator online, with evidence showing how abuse is facilitated through fake accounts and private messaging features, for example.  

Technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse can have a profound impact on children’s emotional well-being, sense of safety, and trust in others. The experiences described by children during interviews often highlighted fear, shame, confusion, and isolation -  with many struggling to understand what had happened or where to seek help. 

Children subjected to tech-facilitated exploitation were four times more likely to report suicidal thoughts or behaviours and self-harm, and significantly higher levels of anxiety, according to the analysis. In Mexico or North Macedonia, for example, the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviours was more than eight times higher among children who experienced abuse, while in Pakistan the risk of self-harm was over seven times higher. 

More than 40 per cent of cases of tech-facilitated abuse were never shared with anyone, while fewer than 1 per cent were reported to authorities such as the police, social workers, or helplines. Globally, the most common reason children remained silent was not knowing where to go or whom to inform. In Viet Nam, nearly six in ten reported technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse incidents (58.6 per cent) were never disclosed to anyone. 

The findings highlight an urgent need for action by governments, technology companies, and other stakeholders to better protect children in the digital age, including to: 

• Make digital platforms safer by design, with stronger privacy protections for children, restrictions on unsolicited contact from adults, safer recommender systems, and better detection and reporting of abuse. 

   

• Strengthen laws, regulation and accountability, ensuring governments have the tools and enforcement measures to address evolving forms of abuse, including sexual extortion and AI-generated sexual abuse material. 

   

• Build reporting and support systems children can trust, including investment in child protection, health, justice and social services.

   

• Shift the burden of protection away from children, ensuring families, schools and communities respond to disclosures with support and help children seek assistance safely.

   

• Reduce the economic vulnerabilities perpetrators exploit through stronger family support and expanded education and employment opportunities for children and young people. 

   

• Address the social and gender norms that normalise the sexualisation of girls and stigmatise survivors of sexual violence. 

   

“All of us, including governments and technology companies, must do more to protect children online,” said Russell.  

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Notes to editors 

Technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse refers to the ways digital technologies and platforms are used to enable or amplify the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in both online and in-person settings. 

The report Through Children's Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse draws on nationally representative surveys of approximately 21,000 internet-using children aged 12 to 17 across 21 countries, alongside in-depth interviews with 100 young people who experienced abuse in childhood. As the survey sample includes internet-using children only, the findings are representative of internet-using children rather than all children, particularly in countries with lower internet connectivity. The research was conducted by UNICEF as one part of the Disrupting Harm project, implemented jointly by UNICEF, ECPAT International and INTERPOL.  

This report combines evidence from two rounds of Disrupting Harm research conducted across 21 countries. The first round, with data collected primarily in 2020–2021, covered Cambodia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, the Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and Viet Nam. The second round in 2024-2025 expanded the research to Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Pakistan and Serbia. 

Link to the report here.     

Multimedia materials available here. 

For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: UNICEF Viet Nam 
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For further information, please contact:   
Iris Bano Romero | UNICEF Global Office in Rome| [email protected] 
Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong |UNICEF Viet Nam | [email protected]