Shocking UNICEF Data Reveals 20 Million Children Face Online Sexual Abuse Globally

In a shocking reveal, UNICEF has reported that one in five children between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age face online sexual abuse or tech abuse. The report gathered data that counted over 20 million children across 21 countries who have been victims of child sexual abuse online. Most cases reported that the predator was someone known to the victims, like a relative, friend or acquaintance.

The data found that most of this online abuse was happening on platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and even online gaming. The online sexual abuse was rampant in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. While India was not named, Al Jazeera reported cases of abuse in South and Southeast Asia from Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

UNICEF also highlighted that over 40% of these cases are never spoken of and less than 1% are reported, making this a cause for extreme concern. This data follows the recent settlement of 18 billion dollars by META to aid better child safety protocols across its platforms in the next decade.

Read More: The Role of Sexuality Education in Reducing Child Vulnerability

Cause for concern

Children are completely vulnerable and often feel ashamed and afraid to ask for help. As technical dependency grows and a large number of children find themselves online, the risk of predators misusing existing platforms to sexually prey on children is a scary and harsh truth.  A lack of adult presence and monitoring makes this even more challenging, with many children being more knowledgeable about the virtual world than their adult caregivers. 

The Psychological Implications of Child Sexual Abuse

Several studies have reported that victims of child sexual abuse are at a higher risk of self-harm than others. It also causes depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, a lack of trust, lower self-esteem, body image insecurities and isolation. Social conditioning in masculinity also leads to severe hushing of the topic in fear of shame or rejection among younger males.

Stronger protective measures

The UNICEF chief called for absolute stakeholder accountability, especially from tech companies and the government. Some of the key preventive measures mentioned were:

• Stronger protection laws and reporting systems
• Mandate absolute accountability and enforcement mechanisms
• Address harmful gender norms, including the sexualisation of girl children
• Address and eliminate the stigma against survivors of sexual violence

Requirement for stronger laws

The existing laws and safety mechanisms have been exposed as weak and easy to fool. Child Sexual Abuse can no longer be taken lightly and requires the harshest punishments. It also requires absolute zero tolerance from any of the big names in tech on their platforms. This will require a complete transformation of existing rules. The safety measures to fight child sexual abuse and child exploitation online have to be adapted in real time with immediate results. This will certainly require greater transparency by these sites in cases involving children, including stricter monitoring and censorship. 

Read More: Internet Vigilantism in India: The Rise of Online Justice and Public Shaming

Conclusion

In many countries, child sexual abuse is still a topic of illiteracy among many adults and even stakeholders. As times change and the evils of child sexual abuse take on a virtual role, effective awareness and education have to be implemented on a societal and governmental level. Parents, teachers and adult caregivers, besides government officials, need to be holistically educated on this topic. This has to be a collaboration between government officials, professional organisations, individuals and educational institutions. Basic awareness sessions, dialogue and conversations must be implemented frequently on the same social media platforms that are causing the problem.