Millions of children fall victim to online sexual abuse every year, Scottish study finds

New research has revealed the "staggering" prevalence of global online child abuse.

More than 300 million children worldwide were victims of online sex abuse over the last year, researchers from the University of Edinburgh have found.  

Believed to be the first global estimate of the scale of the crisis, the report was carried out by the university’s Childlight initiative and includes a new global index, Into The Light, which estimates one case of abuse is reported every second. 

Chief executive of Childlight, Paul Stanfield, said: “This is a global health pandemic that has remained hidden for far too long. It occurs in every country, it’s growing exponentially, and it requires a global response.

“We need to act urgently and treat it as a public health issue that can be prevented. Children can’t wait.”

The research found one in eight or 12.6 per cent of the world’s children were subject to non-consensual talking, sharing and exposure to sexual images and video in the past year.

A similar estimate, 12.5 per cent of children globally had been subject in the past year to online solicitation, such as unwanted sexual talk, non-consensual sexting, unwanted sexual questions and unwanted sexual act requests by adults or other youths.

In addition, 3.5 per cent of children experienced sexual extortion, where predators demand money from victims to keep images private.

The report found child sexual exploitation and abuse was present in every country where it is measured. 

The US had the highest prevalence of predators, with one in nine men – equivalent to 14 million – admitting to engaging in online child abuse at some point.

Surveys found seven per cent of men in the UK admitted to the same criminal behaviour, meaning offenders could form a line “that could stretch from Glasgow to London”, Stanfield claimed. 

Stephen Kavanagh, executive director of Interpol, said: “Online exploitation and abuse is a clear and present danger to the world’s children, and traditional law enforcement approaches are struggling to keep up."

First Minister John Swinney recently pledged to fight sextortion and said keeping children safe online would be a priority for his government.

“We must do much more together at a global level, including specialist investigator training, better data sharing and equipment to effectively fight this pandemic and the harm it inflicts on millions of young lives around the world,” Kavanagh added.

Aoife, who six years ago became a victim of online sexual predator, Jordan Croft, recently spoke to Holyrood about her case.

She said: “He gave the impression that he was unreachable. He told me that he had a degree in cybersecurity and said if the police were contacted, they would not be able to catch him.

“He threatened that if I didn’t complete his demands then the pictures that I had sent would be sent to my friends and family on Facebook – he had found my Facebook page.”

Croft admitted to 65 offences relating to 26 girls and women aged between 12 and 22. He was jailed for 18 years in November 2022.