More than 10 million children in low- and middle-income countries have experienced sexual abuse online

one in every six children who use the internet in Africa and Asia has suffered online sexual exploitation.
Freepik
A new study from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), published in the journal Nature this Wednesday (27), brings a warning about the scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse facilitated by technology: one in every six children and teenagers who access the internet in countries in Africa and Asia has suffered some type of digital sexual abuse.
The research, led by Sakshi Ghai, analyzed representative data from almost 12 thousand adolescents, between 12 and 17 years old, in 12 countries in East and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia. The results reveal that 17% of children using the internet in these regions suffered at least one form of digital abuse in a period of one year.
This proportion, when projected for national populations, is equivalent to more than 10 million children affected in the countries studied alone.
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The study is one of the most important milestones in understanding how rapid digitalization in low- and middle-income countries has exposed most of the world's children to new risks that were, until then, underestimated or ignored by scientific literature, mostly focused on rich countries.
One of the most notable findings of the research is that, unlike sexual abuse that occurs in the physical environment, where girls tend to face significantly greater risks, in the digital environment the prevalence is almost identical between genders.
Around 16.9% of boys and 17% of girls reported having experienced technology-mediated abuse.
The survey, part of the Disrupting Harm project, covered nations such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, the Philippines and Thailand. The authors emphasize that the real numbers may be even higher, as stigma, fear of social repercussions and the nature of the abuse itself may lead victims to not report their experiences during data collection.
Most common types of abuse
The study categorized technology-facilitated sexual abuse into nine different types, ranging from sexual comments to serious forms of extortion. The most common form of violence reported was receiving unsolicited sexual images, affecting around 10% of young internet users.
The types of abuse cited include:
Receiving unwanted sexual images (9.6% of children);
Sexual comments that caused discomfort (7.5%);
Requests to talk about sex or sexual acts (4.8%);
Requests for photos or videos of private parts (4.2%);
Pressure or requests to perform sexual acts (3.9%);
Offers of money or gifts in exchange for sexual images (2.7%) or face-to-face meetings for sex (2.8%);
Non-consensual sharing of sexual images of children (2.8%);
Blackmail or sexual extortion (sextortion) to force sexual activities (2.5%).
The number of cases varied drastically between countries, reflecting different levels of digital connectivity and cultural contexts. The Philippines recorded the highest rate of online abuse, with 29% of young users affected, followed closely by Uganda with almost 28%. In contrast, Vietnam had the lowest estimated rate, at 5.5%, which may indicate both a real difference in incidence and variations in the likelihood of children reporting such acts in the local context.
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Victims see obstacles to reporting
Despite the seriousness of the incidents, the study highlights that more than half of victims (51%) never revealed what happened to anyone. When children decide to speak out, they turn massively to informal support networks, almost completely ignoring formal reporting mechanisms.
The relationship between informal and institutional support is alarming:
Friends are the main confidants, being sought out by 46% of victims who chose to disclose.
The family also plays a role, with disclosures to siblings (26%), mothers (21%) and fathers (20%).
On the other hand, official channels are rarely used: only 3% went to the police, 3% used helplines and only 3% spoke to social workers.
The situation is particularly critical in the school environment. Although teachers interact with young people on a daily basis, only 9% of victims of online sexual abuse sought out teachers to report what had happened. This suggests a profound flaw in the perception of school as a safe haven for dealing with digital harm.
Among the main barriers that prevent children from seeking help, the most common reason is not knowing where to go or who to tell, cited by 37.6% of non-reporters.
Other obstacles include feelings of embarrassment and shame (19.6%), fear of getting into trouble (10%), and the perception that the incident was not "serious enough" to report (14.2%). 17-year-olds are twice as likely to suffer digital abuse compared to 12-year-olds, but are significantly less likely to reveal what happened to adults or authorities.
On the other hand, the study identified that active parental mediation is one of the strongest factors in encouraging reporting. Children whose parents actively participate in digital life, suggesting safe ways to use the internet and offering help when something bothers them, have much higher disclosure rates. Prior knowledge about where to seek help after cases of harassment also proved to be a crucial predictor for the victim to break the silence.

Source: G1