INSIGHTS: How online sexual exploitation disproportionally impacts vulnerable children

By Guest Opinion

When I assumed my function as the UN Special Rapporteur, I decided that one of my thematic priorities would be on the issue of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. This decision was informed by the growing use of the Internet and emerging technologies as instruments for the sale and sexual exploitation of children, a trend that has persistently and alarmingly increased over the past three decades.

Last year, I highlighted how the misuse of existing and emerging technologies exacerbates sexual exploitation and sexual abuse that children face in my annual report, Existing and emerging sexually exploitative practices against children in the digital environment to the United Nations General Assembly.

I warned that emerging technologies such as deepfakes and AI-generated child sexual abuse materials are compounding risks and harms. In countries and regions with weak legal frameworks and limited digital forensics capacity, perpetrators operate with near impunity, while victims remain invisible and statistics alone cannot capture the extent of the problem and its emotional impact on victims.

For many children, the perpetrators are from within their circles of trust, and the abuse is not just a violation of their bodies but also a breach of trust. Marginalized children often face barriers to reporting abuse. Shame, fear of retaliation, and mistrust in authorities keep them silent. The consequences are certainly all too real and can result in anxiety, depression, social isolation, poor school performance, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts or worse. When they do speak, they are too often met with disbelief, indifference, or bureaucratic delays. The social position of the victim can also influence their willingness or accessibility to take legal action, especially those who do not wish to disclose facts about themselves.

Online child sexual abuse or exploitation is not an abstract problem; it is a reality that disproportionately affects children, especially those from marginalized communities like those who experience poverty, are sexually diverse, belong to indigenous communities, or live in street situations or with disabilities.

Children often lack the digital literacy or supervision to stay safe online. Organized crime networks take advantage of the economic needs of families by grooming children and exploiting them through sexting and sextortion. 2 Criminals exploit digital technology to target girls and youths with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities and, now increasingly, young boys.

Online exploitation of children is worsening

The time to address these risks to children is now. Children today are spending more time in the digital environment than ever before. Worldwide, one in three internet users is a child, with a child going online for the first time every half a second. Research reports have revealed the sustained threat and intensification of child sexual abuse and exploitation in the digital environment, both in terms of scale and method.

The digital space has brought unprecedented opportunities for children to learn, play and connect with their friends, yet for millions of children, the digital space has opened new avenues for criminals to reach them. The digital space also exacerbates systemic and structural inequalities, intersecting forms of discrimination, and patterns of harmful masculinities.

Solutions must be urgently implemented

Addressing this problem requires more than reactive measures. It requires a proactive, inclusive, and survivor-centred approach. Legal frameworks must be strengthened to criminalize emerging forms of abuse, including livestreamed exploitation and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement and child protection agencies need sustained investment in digital forensics and training to investigate online crimes effectively, especially in low-resource settings where the gap between abuse and accountability is widest.

Safe and accessible ways to report abuse must also be made available to children and young people. This means designing child-friendly mechanisms that are confidential, multilingual, and inclusive of children with disabilities.

Equally important is the need to centre survivor voices in policy and program design. Those who have lived through abuse especially from marginalized backgrounds carry insights that no data set can replicate. Their experiences can inform prevention strategies, support services, and legal reforms. Support services such as psychosocial support, legal aid, and reintegration support should be available to all survivors.

Education is crucial, and digital literacy and resilience building should be embedded in school curricula and community programs, equipping children to recognize grooming tactics, protect their privacy, and seek help without shame.

Technology companies must also be held accountable. Platforms that profit from children’s engagement must bear responsibility for detecting, reporting, and removing abuse material. Cooperation with investigations should be mandatory.

Without immediate action, the phenomenon of online child sexual exploitation and abuse will be further exacerbated by pre-existing inequalities, resulting in additional violations of the rights of children, with a disproportionate impact on those from vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Addressing and responding to such impact requires survivor-led advocacy, community-based interventions, and sustained political will to ensure adequate budgetary allocations for well- trained and well-resourced law enforcement and child protection professionals. The world’s children deserve nothing less than our full and unyielding protection from sexual exploitation.