The first global estimate of the scale of the problem of online sexual exploitation has found that more than 300 million children a year are victimized, or one in eight of the world’s children have been victims of nonconsensual taking, sharing, and exposure to sexual images and video in the past 12 months.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s Childlight Global Child Safety Institute carried out the study.
According to the report, there have been a similar number of cases of solicitation, such as unwanted sexting and requests for sexual acts by adults and older youths. Offenses ranged from so-called sextortion, where predators demand money from victims to keep images private, to the abuse of AI technology to create deepfake videos and pictures.
“This is a global health pandemic that has remained hidden for far too long. It occurs in every country, it’s growing exponentially, and it requires a global response,” said Childlight chief executive Paul Stanfield.
The report comes after UK police warned last month about criminal gangs in West Africa and Southeast Asia targeting British teenagers in sextortion scams online. Cases, particularly against teenage boys, are soaring worldwide, according to nongovernmental organizations and police.
The scammers often pose as another young person, making contact on social media before moving to encrypted messaging apps and encouraging the victim to share intimate images. Blackmail demands are often made within an hour of making contact, and are motivated by extorting as much money as possible, rather than sexual gratification.
The scale of the problem of online sexual exploitation of children cannot be ignored, by either governments, parents, or most of the private sector, as we obviously have to do much more to protect our children from these sorts of predators, regardless of their motivation, whether it is money or sexual gratification.
From increased vigilance at home, to access to support for victims, as well as the prosecution of the scammers and exploiters, along with constantly keeping up with their constantly evolving tactics and modus operandi, we have a lot of work ahead of us.*
