Through Children's Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse

This UNICEF Innocenti (Office of Strategy and Evidence) report examines how digital technologies enable child sexual abuse and exploitation, combining children's testimonies with one of the largest bodies of available survey data on the subject across 21 countries. Findings indicate that approximately 20 million children aged 12-17 experienced technology-facilitated sexual abuse or exploitation online within a single year, with incidents often underreported to authorities and survivors facing serious mental health consequences, including increased suicidal ideation and self-harm. The report is part of the Disrupting Harm project, which generates evidence on technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse of children.