Sexually exploitative practices against children in the digital environment

The UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children recently invited stakeholders to contribute to a report examining existing and emerging sexually exploitative practices and abuse of children in the digital environment. Based on primary data from the Disrupting Harm project’s survey of 12- to 17-year-olds in several countries, Global Kids Online provided input on how technologies are being used to facilitate the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, and made practical recommendations to make child safety online a reality. Here, LSE Visiting Fellow Miriam Rahali summarises Global Kids Online’s contribution.

A key finding from the Disrupting Harm data, highlighted in the Global Kids Online Network submission, is that children in many countries are more likely to be victims of sexual exploitation and abuse via social media than in online games or in real life.

Recent technological and social changes have reconfigured the digital landscape for all internet users, increasing both the benefits of being online and the associated risks of harm. A challenge that arises from this is recognising the context in which harmful practices – such as sexual abuse and exploitation – emerge. When considering preventive efforts and implementing good policy and legislation, it is therefore crucial to understand the variety of digital sexual practices and abuses that occur and to assess the extent to which these pose a risk of serious harm.

Cross-Country Variation

Children’s exposure to sexual images online varies significantly by country. However, it is important to note that research has shown that most online sexual contact occurs between peers, is consensual and is viewed positively by the teens involved. To measure online child sexual exploitation and abuse, the Disrupting Harm research project (a multi-country, multi-method project implemented by UNICEF Innocenti, ECPAT International and INTERPOL, with funding from Safe Online) used a questionnaire adapted from Global Kids Online, with indicators such as whether someone was offered money or gifts in exchange for sexual images, videos or a face-to-face meeting to engage in sexual activity, or was threatened or blackmailed into doing so, as well as whether sexual images were shared without consent.(1) As shown in the table above, re-produced by the Disrupting Harm team and Global Kids Online in 2022, children reported being most likely to experience sexual exploitation and abuse via social media (see UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight (2023). The role of social media in facilitating online child sexual exploitation and abuse for more details).

Socio-demographic variation

In addition to age and gender, factors such as socio-economic status, self-reliance and psychological problems influence how strongly children experience harm. In general, children who experience one risk are more likely to experience others, with vulnerable children, such as those with special needs and disabilities, and LGBTQ+ children, becoming particularly distressed and trapped in negative spirals. Research shows that for children and young people who were unable to share these experiences and did not receive adequate support, the long-term consequences seemed to be more severe, affecting their academic performance, social life, leisure activities and well-being. However, research into Disrupting Harm shows that a significant number of children do not share these experiences and often do not receive guidance and support from adults.

Variation in digital skills

Skills and digital literacy are often seen as the solution to children’s exposure to online risks. However, recent research shows that it is more complex: acquiring digital skills brings opportunities, but also risks. In Europe, it has been shown that greater digital skills enable more effective coping strategies that protect against harm to well-being. Globally, digital skills are also positively linked to online coping behaviour: digitally literate children were more likely to delete messages and block senders when they experienced cyberbullying or unwanted sexting, while children with less skills were more distressed and less able to deal with sexual images.

Variation in solutions

The child rights community has proposed multiple tools ranging from Child Rights Impact Assessment, best interest determination, child participation, evidence gathering, restorative and rehabilitative approaches and more, as outlined in General Comment No. 25. Furthermore, the submissions from multiple stakeholders – from UN entities, States, NHRIs, regional and national mechanisms, CSOs, children’s commissioners, academia, the private sector and other stakeholders – to the Special Rapporteur’s call for input on this issue demonstrate a variety of solutions that can be deployed at scale and effectively.

An evidence-based approach should identify optimal measures to intervene and help children. It is important to distinguish child transgressive behaviour from sexual abuse and adult targeting of children, and to address both effectively, prioritising rehabilitative and restorative approaches for the former.

In conclusion, conceptualising online sexual activity as an inevitably negative experience may result in the provision of unnoticed advice that is not applicable to a child’s real lived experience. Therefore, there is a need to better understand the content of children’s experiences; as per General Comment No. 25, the collection of robust, comprehensive data should be adequately disaggregated by age, gender, religion, disability, geographical location, ethnic and national origin and socio-economic background.

The challenge is to develop effective preventive strategies to protect children from the negative consequences of exploring sexuality online, while ensuring that such strategies remain within their age-appropriate development. Regulations must be balanced with educational efforts that not only help children acquire the digital skills to prevent harm and build digital resilience, but also indicate how and where to report or find support when they experience online sexual exploitation and abuse.

This post was originally published on the Global Kids Online website and is reposted with thanks. It represents the views of the author and not the position of the Media@LSE blog, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.