New study finds one in six internet-using children across Africa and Asia experience technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse

One in six internet-using children across 12 countries in eastern and southern Africa and Southeast Asia have experienced some form of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), according to new research published in Nature on 27 May 2026.

The study, Technology mediation in child sexual exploitation and abuse in Africa and Asia, analysed nationally representative survey data from 11,912 children aged 12–17 collected through the Disrupting Harm project between 2020 and 2021. Researchers estimate that more than 10 million children across the regions studied experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse in a single year.

The research team led by Dr Ghai examined experiences including online grooming, sexual solicitation, receiving unwanted sexual images, non-consensual sharing of private images and sexual extortion or blackmail. Despite the scale of harm identified, many experiences went undisclosed.

When children did disclose abuse, they were far more likely to confide in friends or family members rather than use formal reporting mechanisms such as police, teachers, social workers or helplines. Older children were less likely to disclose experiences despite being more likely to encounter online sexual harms.

The findings also point to factors associated with disclosure. Children whose parents engaged in open and enabling conversations about online activities were more likely to disclose harmful experiences, and awareness of where to seek help after sexual harassment or assault was also associated with higher disclosure rates.

The study provides some of the first large-scale population-level evidence on technology-facilitated CSEA in low-and middle-income countries, including children living in rural and peri-urban areas that are often underrepresented in research on digital harms.

Dr Ghai and colleagues concluded that the findings demonstrate the need for coordinated action across governments, law enforcement agencies, technology companies and child protection organisations.

Professor Sonia Livingstone, Department of Media and Communications and Director of Digital Futures for Children commented: “The evidence of online harms to children is mounting fast, fuelling calls for better regulation of platforms as well as for effective support for children. Too often, we hear mainly from wealthy countries, but our article reports new research findings from all around the world. This matters, because the platforms operate across borders, the problem is global, and so much be the solutions. Hopefully, our transnational evidence will mobilise the international agencies who can take action and provide urgently-needed support.”

Assistant Professor Sakshi Ghai, Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science added: “Our findings point to disclosure as one critical pathway for protection in the digital age. They identify key predictors associated with disclosure but show these vary considerably between countries, underlining the need for culturally grounded research.

“Yet the burden of detection and response should not rest on children, families or civil society alone; it has to sit with those who actually have the power to address it: technology companies, policymakers and law enforcement. And that responsibility is increasingly urgent: generative AI and deepfakes are already being used to produce synthetic child sexual abuse material faster than safeguarding frameworks can respond.”

Read Technology mediation in child sexual exploitation and abuse in Africa and Asia here.