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2 clusters · 25 sources · 5 days · First seen · Last updated

Global technology-facilitated child sexual abuse

Overview

A Unicef report titled ‘Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse’ estimates that 20 million children and adolescents across 21 countries experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse annually. The findings show that 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, 9 million were coerced into sexual conversations or image sharing, and 4 million had sexual images leaked without consent. Social media platforms account for roughly 60% of reported violations, while online gaming environments represent 14%. Notably, 57% of reported cases involved known individuals, such as family members or friends.

Specific data from a study titled ‘Disrupting Harm’—conducted by UNICEF, ECPAT International, and INTERPOL—highlights the Dominican Republic as having the highest prevalence among the 15 countries researched. In the Dominican Republic, 23% of internet users aged 12 to 17, approximately 272,000 adolescents, experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence in the last year. In 68% of these Dominican cases, the perpetrator was an acquaintance.

Across the research, reporting remains critically low. In the Dominican Republic, less than 1% of cases were reported to the National Police. Experts suggest the true scale of the issue may be higher due to barriers such as shame, fear, and a lack of knowledge regarding assistance mechanisms.

Entities

Ecpat International · Interpol · UNICEF · Dominican Republic · Catherine Russell

Timeline

  1. 2 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 7 sources
    Dominican Republic reports high rates of technology-facilitated sexual abuse among adolescents

    A UNICEF-led study finds that 23% of adolescents in the Dominican Republic experienced technology-facilitated sexual abuse in the past year, the highest rate among 15 studied nations.

  2. 7 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 18 sources
    Unicef report: 20 million children face digital sexual abuse annually

    A Unicef report finds 20 million children globally face technology-facilitated sexual abuse annually, with 60% of incidents occurring on social media and 57% involving known individuals.

Sources

98fmnatal.com.br · acordacidade.com.br · actu.capital.fr · allegrini.it · cenariomt.com.br · confidencialhn.com · contextohn.com · defatoonline.com.br · diarioextra.com · ensegundos.do · eveeno.com · jcatibaia.com.br · jovempan.uol.com.br · ndmais.com.br · observador.cr · odiariodebarretos.com.br · osaogoncalo.com.br · pontanegranews.com.br · portals1.com.br · prensa-latina.cu · revistapetra.com · surinamenieuws.nl · tnh1.com.br · ubirataonline.com.br · wwwhatsnew.com