UNICEF Raises Concern About the Risks of Digital Technologies for Children and Adolescents
2026 | Digital Rights · Protection · Technology
A new UNICEF report warns about the growing links between digital technologies and different forms of sexual exploitation and abuse affecting children and adolescents. The study, Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Child Sexual Abuse, combines testimonies from children with research data from 21 countries.
According to UNICEF, approximately 20 million children aged 12 to 17 across the countries studied—around one in five internet-using children—experienced some form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse within a single year. The report demonstrates that expanding digital access creates important opportunities for education, communication, and participation, while also potentially increasing children’s exposure to harmful situations. Children interviewed for the research described experiences involving fear, shame, confusion, and isolation, and some struggled to understand what had happened or where to seek help.
These findings highlight the need to build safe, rights-based digital environments, while strengthening digital education, prevention capacities, and protection and reporting mechanisms.
For youth organizations, the challenge is to promote digital citizenship that combines the opportunities offered by technology with the tools young people need to recognize risks, exercise their rights, and participate safely and meaningfully in digital spaces.
