Research Claims Over 300 Million Children Victimized By Online Exploitation & Abuse

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh conducted a one-of-a-kind study, and the data and results shocked everyone with the alarming extent of internet crimes and crimes against children. It's terrifying to imagine that 300 million children have been victims of internet sexual exploitation and abuse in just one year.

To add to the shock, one out of every nine men in the United States has admitted to the heinous crime of online bullying and harassment of children. This report is the first investigation into the global scale of child online abuse, and it was published on Monday, May 27th 2024,  sending shockwaves around the world.

Over 300M Children Affected By Online Exploitation And Abuse

In what is considered to be the first global assessment of the crime, researchers from the University of Edinburgh discovered that one in every eight children worldwide has been exposed to non-consensual sexual talking/flirting/questions, as well as the sharing of sexual photographs and videos in the last year. According to research conducted by Edinburgh University's Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, around 12.6% of the world's children, or 302 million, have encountered non-consensual sexual content online during the last year.

The study also revealed that 12.5% of children on the internet have been subjected to online solicitation from unwanted sexual talk requests that included sexting, sexual acts requests or sexual questions by adults or other youths to the kids on the internet.

These crimes against children range from sextortion, in which the predators demand money from the victims to keep their photographs private, to the use of AI technology to produce fake pictures and videos.

While cyber harassment is a global issue, the research reveals that the United States is especially at risk, with one out of every nine men admitting to committing the offence against children at some point. This percentage is equivalent to 14 million internet abusers in the  United States alone. The study additionally focused on British men, with 7% (1.8 million) admitting to doing the same.

Another concerning finding from the study was that a substantial percentage of men admitted to committing or seeking physical sexual assaults against minors if they knew they would be kept secret.

The Chief Executive of Childlight's Institue, Paul Stanfield stated "Child abuse material is so prevalent that files are on average reported to watchdog and policing organisations once every second." Stanfield stated the crisis is the "global health pandemic" which is growing "exponentially" and requires a global response.

The report comes only a week after British police warned about Southeast Asia and West Africa, primarily targeting British teenage boys, as the number of sextortion frauds grows globally. The study has garnered much-needed attention, which many view as a crisis.