20 million children a year face online sexual abuse, UNICEF says

As many as 20 million children in 21 countries have experienced online sexual abuse or exploitation each year, according to new findings from the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF.More than one in five children aged 12 to 17 in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe have been targeted on digital platforms, according to the UNICEF report released on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US appeals court says social media addiction lawsuits can proceedlist 2 of 4Meta lawsuits: Is social media facing a global legal reckoning?list 3 of 4Meta’s $18bn settlement: How social platforms will change for child userslist 4 of 4Parents who lost children to social media harms question Meta settlementend of listResearchers surveyed 21,000 children aged 12 to 17 who used the internet across 21 countries between 2020 and 2021, and then again between 2024 and 2025. They also conducted in-depth interviews with 100 young people who have experienced childhood abuse.Social media facilitated more than half of the abuse cases, according to UNICEF, which cautioned that figures could be inaccurate due to underreporting by children. Less than 1 ...