Audio Version: Add this article to a WordPress Gutenberg Audio block when the narration file is available.
By SCN Staff

Content Note: This article discusses technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse. It also includes practical support and reporting information for families.

Quick Review

• UNICEF estimates that 20 million children ages 12 to 17, or nearly 1 in 5 internet-using children surveyed across 21 countries, experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year.
• More than 40% of cases were never shared with anyone, and fewer than 1% were reported to police, social workers, or helplines.
• Children may stay silent because they fear punishment, embarrassment, judgment, losing phone access, or uncertainty about whether what happened “counts” as abuse.
• Parents can make disclosure safer by responding with calm, belief, protection, and practical help rather than blame.

UNICEF’s new Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse report, released September 3, 2026, presents a serious child-safety warning. It also points toward a constructive question for every family: What can parents do to make it safer for children to tell us when something goes wrong?

What UNICEF Found

The report draws on nationally representative surveys of approximately 21,000 internet-using children ages 12 to 17 across 21 countries, along with in-depth interviews with 100 young people who experienced abuse in childhood.

An estimated 20 million children experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse during a single year. This can include unwanted sexual content, coercion to engage in sexual conversations or share images, sexual extortion, and the non-consensual sharing or creation of sexual images.

The report estimates that:

• More than 15 million children encountered unwanted sexual content.
• Approximately 9 million were pressured to engage in sexual conversations or share sexual images.
• About 4 million had sexual images of themselves shared without consent.
• Nearly 60% of cases took place on mainstream social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and WhatsApp.
• Approximately 14% of cases occurred in online games.
• In 57% of cases, the child already knew the person responsible, including a peer, romantic partner, friend, or family member.
• In 38% of cases, the child first encountered the perpetrator online.

That last finding matters. Online safety conversations often focus on unknown adults, but children may also be harmed by people they know offline or by individuals who use digital spaces to build trust through false identities and private messaging.

Important limitation: Survey sample includes internet-using children only, so findings are representative of internet-using children rather than all children.

The figures are estimates from the countries surveyed, not a count of every child worldwide. Because many children do not disclose what happened, the true scale is likely higher.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said: “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… Many children suffer in silence, unsure where to turn for help. We cannot look away.”

Why Children Stay Silent

UNICEF found that more than 4 in 10 experiences were never shared with anyone, while fewer than 1% were reported to police, social workers, or helplines. The most common reason children remained silent was not knowing where to go or whom to tell.

Other barriers may include:

• Fear that a parent will take away the child’s phone or restrict internet access.
• Worry that adults will blame them for sending a message, accepting a request, or trusting someone.
• Shame, embarrassment, or fear of being judged.
• Uncertainty about whether the experience qualifies as abuse.
• Fear that reporting will make the situation more visible.
• Concern that a parent, teacher, or friend will not believe them.
• Threats from the person responsible, including threats to share images or harm someone they love.

Research from Thorn, referenced in SCN’s Parent’s AI Emergency Guide, found that fear of shame and judgment can discourage young people from seeking in-person support after harmful online sexual experiences. This makes a parent’s first reaction critically important.

A child does not need to explain the situation perfectly before receiving support. Your role is not to conduct an investigation at the kitchen table. Your role is to help the child feel safe, preserve useful information, and connect with appropriate support.

What To Say When Your Child Tells You

Begin with a calm voice and simple language. The first few sentences can determine whether a child continues talking or withdraws.

You might say:

• “I’m glad you told me.”
• “I believe you.”
• “You are not in trouble.”
• “What happened is not your fault.”
• “We are going to deal with this together.”
• “You do not have to handle this alone.”
• “We can take this one step at a time.”

Avoid beginning with questions such as “Why did you send that?” or “Why did you talk to them?” Those questions can sound like blame, even when asked from fear or concern.

Instead, use open, limited questions:

• “Can you tell me what you feel comfortable telling me?”
• “Is anyone threatening you right now?”
• “Do you feel safe at home, at school, and online?”
• “Is there anything you need immediately?”

Do not promise absolute secrecy. Explain that you may need to involve a safe adult, school counselor, child-protection professional, or law-enforcement agency to help protect them.

Immediate Steps After Disclosure

If a child tells you about online sexual exploitation or abuse:

1. Stay calm and listen. Keep your attention on the child rather than reacting visibly with anger or panic.
2. Believe and reassure them. Make clear that they are not being punished for coming to you.
3. Do not interrogate. Ask only what is necessary to understand immediate safety concerns.
4. Preserve evidence carefully. Save usernames, account details, messages, dates, URLs, and platform reporting information. Do not unnecessarily download, forward, or share sexual images involving a minor.
5. Do not delete accounts or messages immediately. Information may help platforms, child-protection professionals, or investigators.
6. Report the account or content to the platform.
7. In the United States, report suspected online child sexual exploitation to the NCMEC CyberTipline.
8. If an intimate image was taken before the child turned 18, review NCMEC’s Take It Down service. It can help participating platforms identify copies without requiring the image to be uploaded.
9. Contact local authorities if the child is in immediate danger, an offender is making threats, or physical abuse may be occurring.
10. Connect the child with support. Consider a school counselor, pediatrician, qualified mental-health professional, or local child-protection helpline.

If the child expresses suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or an immediate mental-health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. If there is immediate physical danger, contact local emergency services.

For additional guidance involving AI-generated sexual images, read SCN’s coverage of AI fake nudes and what parents should do.

What Safer Digital Environments Require

UNICEF’s recommendations extend beyond individual families. The report calls for platforms to adopt safety by design, strengthen privacy protections, restrict unsolicited contact from adults, improve reporting systems, and make recommender systems safer for children.

It also calls for stronger laws and accountability addressing sexual extortion and AI-generated sexual abuse material, along with reporting and support systems children can trust.

The responsibility cannot rest on children alone. Families, schools, technology companies, policymakers, and child-protection services all have a role in creating digital environments where children are supported before, during, and after harm occurs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does The 20 Million Figure Include Every Child Worldwide?

No. It is an estimate based on internet-using children ages 12 to 17 surveyed across 21 countries. The number should not be presented as a worldwide count. Underreporting and limited internet access also mean the full scale is difficult to measure.

What If My Child Broke A Family Rule?

Help should come before consequences. Address immediate safety, preserve evidence, and make a plan for future digital boundaries later. If children believe disclosure will automatically lead to losing their phone, they may remain silent next time.

Should I Ask My Child To Send Me The Image?

No. Do not ask a child to forward or resend sexual material involving a minor. Preserve surrounding information, such as usernames, messages, URLs, and dates, and use appropriate reporting channels for guidance.

Should I Contact The Other Child’s Parents?

Do not confront suspected offenders or their families online. Preserve information, notify the school when appropriate, and contact local authorities or child-protection professionals if the situation involves threats, exploitation, or immediate danger.

What Is The Most Important Prevention Step?

Tell your child before an incident occurs: “You can bring me any online problem. I will help you first, and we will work out the rules together.” A trusted relationship is not a replacement for platform safeguards or professional services, but it can make disclosure more likely and support available sooner.

Build A Safer Path To Help

The most important message for children is simple: You are not in trouble for telling a trusted adult that something harmful happened.

Parents cannot control every message, platform, game, image, or contact a child may encounter. They can, however, make their response predictable: listen, believe, protect, and connect the child with help.

Join the Secure Children’s Network newsletter for practical guidance on children’s online security, responsible technology, and safer digital environments for families.