Children are sexually abused online regularly, and the problem is only growing. Here’s what experts suggest

SeventyFour/iStockphoto/Getty Images

Researchers are calling for global action after finding that 1 in 12 kids are being exposed to sexual exploitation and abuse online, according to a new study.

“The study highlights the urgent need for increased awareness and action from the public and policymakers. Rapid advancements in digital technology and the growth of internet and smartphone access, particularly in developing nations, are putting more children at risk every day,” said lead author of the study Dr. Xiangming Fang, research associate professor of health policy and behavioral sciences at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health.

The report published Tuesday in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health looked at data from 123 studies between 2010 and 2023. Researchers then analyzed the number of children younger than 18 years old who were exposed to any of the subtypes of sexual abuse: online solicitation; online sexual exploitation; sexual extortion; and nonconsensual taking and sharing of and exposure to sexual images and videos.

5 strategies for families to ensure children are safe online, according to a new White House report

Last year, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 36 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation of children, “to say nothing of the untold number of cases that are never reported,” said Kate Kennedy, director of the Know2Protect campaign of the Department of Homeland Security.

“The internet has become a crime scene, with children sexually exploited and abused online about ten times every second. It’s a global health emergency linked to poorer mental and physical health, reduced employment prospects and lower life expectancy,” Fang said in an email.

“But it’s preventable, not inevitable. Online (child sexual abuse) is more prevalent than other major childhood public health problems like asthma, obesity and ADHD — and we can protect children if we treat it in a similar way, as a public health problem with a focus on prevention.”

Knowing what sexual abuse and exploitation online looks like can help in its prevention.

The researchers defined online sexual exploitation as sex acts being exchanged for money or resources. Those can be “food, clothes, shelter, affection, protection, belonging, gifts, or anything else of perceived value to the young person or child,” Fang said.

Online solicitation is sexual inquiries and long-term sexual conversations, which may lead to exchanging sexual pictures or videos, he said.

“It is important to note that the different types of online solicitation often come from peers as well as adult perpetrators,” Fang added.

Sexual extortion happens when a person blackmails another person for things including money, gift cards or other sexual acts by threatening to share intimate pictures or videos, according to the study.

And nonconsensual taking, sharing and exposure to sexual images can happen when images are captured when a child was intoxicated, distracted, unconscious or otherwise unable to consent, he said. Exploitation and abuse can also occur when a child’s face is imposed onto a sexual image of someone else (called a “deepfake”) or when a child is exposed to pornographic content.

“Unwanted exposure to sexual content also occurs frequently while surfing or scrolling through social media,” Fang said.

The use of AI-generated images, deepfakes and other technological advances has encouraged the rise of sexual extortion, exploitation and abuse, he said.

“Be in no doubt (these) are not harmless images: they are deeply damaging, and the abuse continues with every view and the failure to take down this abusive content,” Fang added.

Talking to children about their safety online is a crucial first step in protecting them from online sexual abuse, said Dr. Kara Alaimo, associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She was not involved in the study.

“Kids are likely at greater risk of becoming victims if they aren’t educated about these dangers and how to protect themselves online, spend a lot of time online, and are unsupervised online,” she said.

When it comes to supervision, there are ways to keep an eye on your child’s safety while still allowing them some privacy, including a new feature on Instagram that gives parents access to who their child is communicating with while not sharing the content of the messages, said Alaimo, who is also the author of “ Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back.”

Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images

About half of children share their location on Twitch, research shows

Keep conversations about what’s going on online open with your children and limit their screen time so that they have other healthy things to do, such as going outside and spending time with their friends face to face, Alaimo said.

It’s also vital for families to let children know “that if they are targeted that they can always turn to them for support and to find a way out,” said first author of the study Dr. Deborah Fry, professor of international child protection research at the University of Edinburgh and global director of data for Childlight – Global Child Safety Institute.

And know that there are resources for you, too, if you find your child has been the victim of online sexual abuse, Alaimo added.

“If kids do become victims of online abuse,” she said, “parents should consider reaching out to law enforcement, groups such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network ( RAINN ) and an attorney.”

SeventyFour/iStockphoto/Getty Images

一项新研究发现，每 12 个孩子中就有 1 个在网络上遭受性剥削和虐待，研究人员呼吁全球采取行动。

“这项研究凸显了公众和政策制定者提高意识和采取行动的迫切需要。数字技术的快速发展以及互联网和智能手机普及，尤其是在发展中国家，正使越来越多的儿童每天都面临风险，”该研究的主要作者、佐治亚州立大学公共卫生学院卫生政策和行为科学研究副教授方向明博士说。

周二发表在《柳叶刀儿童与青少年健康》杂志上的这份报告分析了 2010 年至 2023 年间 123 项研究的数据。研究人员随后分析了 18 岁以下儿童遭受以下任何一种性虐待的人数：网络招揽；网络性剥削；性勒索；以及未经同意拍摄、分享和接触性图片和视频。

白宫一份新报告提出了5项策略，帮助家庭确保儿童上网安全。

去年，国家失踪与受虐儿童中心和国土安全调查局收到了超过 3600 万份关于疑似儿童性剥削的报告，“更不用说还有无数从未被报告的案件了，”国土安全部 Know2Protect 活动主任凯特·肯尼迪说。

方在一封电子邮件中写道：“互联网已经变成了犯罪现场，每秒钟就有大约十名儿童在网上遭受性剥削和虐待。这是一场全球性的健康危机，与身心健康状况恶化、就业前景黯淡和预期寿命缩短有关。”

“但这并非不可避免，而是可以预防的。网络（儿童性虐待）比其他主要的儿童公共卫生问题（如哮喘、肥胖和多动症）更为普遍——如果我们以类似的方式对待它，将其视为一个公共卫生问题，并注重预防，我们就能保护儿童。”

了解网络性虐待和性剥削的表现形式有助于预防此类事件的发生。

研究人员将网络性剥削定义为以性行为换取金钱或资源。方表示，这些资源可以是“食物、衣物、住所、关爱、保护、归属感、礼物，或任何其他对青少年或儿童而言有价值的东西”。

他说，网上招揽是指性方面的询问和长期的性对话，这可能会导致交换性照片或视频。

方补充道：“值得注意的是，不同类型的网络性骚扰往往来自同龄人以及成年施害者。”

根据这项研究，性勒索是指一个人通过威胁分享私密照片或视频来勒索另一个人，以获取金钱、礼品卡或其他性行为等。

他说，未经同意拍摄、分享和接触性图像的情况可能发生在儿童醉酒、注意力不集中、昏迷或其他无法同意的情况下。此外，当儿童的脸被合成到他人的性图像上（称为“深度伪造”）或儿童接触到色情内容时，也可能构成剥削和虐待。

方表示：“在浏览或滚动社交媒体时，也经常会不经意间接触到色情内容。”

他表示，人工智能生成的图像、深度伪造和其他技术进步的使用助长了性勒索、性剥削和性虐待的增加。

方补充道：“毫无疑问，这些图片并非无害：它们具有极大的破坏性，每一次浏览和未能删除这些有害内容都会继续造成伤害。”

费尔利·狄金森大学传播学副教授卡拉·阿拉伊莫博士表示，与孩子谈论网络安全是保护他们免受网络性虐待的关键第一步。她并未参与这项研究。

她说：“如果孩子们没有接受过关于这些危险以及如何保护自己上网的教育，花费大量时间上网，并且上网时无人监管，那么他们就更容易成为受害者。”

阿拉伊莫表示，在监督孩子上网时，有很多方法既能关注孩子的安全，又能让他们拥有一定的隐私，例如 Instagram 的一项新功能，可以让家长了解孩子在和谁交流，但不会分享信息内容。阿拉伊莫同时也是《过度影响：为什么社交媒体对女性和女孩有害——以及我们如何才能夺回控制权》一书的作者。

Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images

研究显示，大约一半的儿童会在Twitch上分享自己的位置信息。

阿拉伊莫说，要和孩子就网络上发生的事情保持开放的对话，限制他们的屏幕时间，让他们有其他健康的事情可做，比如到户外和朋友面对面地相处。

该研究的第一作者、爱丁堡大学国际儿童保护研究教授、Childlight – 全球儿童安全研究所全球数据总监黛博拉·弗莱博士表示，让孩子知道“如果他们成为攻击目标，他们可以随时向家人寻求支持和帮助，找到出路”，这一点也至关重要。

阿拉伊莫补充说，如果你发现自己的孩子是网络性虐待的受害者，也要知道也有资源可以帮助你。

“如果孩子成为网络虐待的受害者，”她说，“家长应该考虑联系执法部门、全国失踪和受虐儿童中心以及强奸、虐待和乱伦全国网络（RAINN）等组织，以及律师。”