One in 12 children globally has, at one time or other, been exposed to online sexual exploitation or abuse, according to a new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health on Tuesday, the first such assessment .
Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) is a global public health issue that is rapidly escalating due to fast-paced development and access to social media and other virtual contexts. It refers to a range of sexually abusive and exploitative behaviours
One in 12 children globally has, at one time or other, been exposed to online sexual exploitation or abuse, according to a new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health on Tuesday, the first such assessment .
Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) is a global public health issue that is rapidly escalating due to fast-paced development and access to social media and other virtual contexts. It refers to a range of sexually abusive and exploitative behaviours that occurs either online or through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), including online solicitation, online grooming, exposure to pornography, unwanted or pressured sexting, image-based abuse, sexual extortion, and sexual exploitation.
According to the authors, the current study is the first systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at better understanding the global prevalence and nature of OCSEA.
“By analysing the results of 123 previously conducted studies between 2010 and 2023, the prevalence of four broader OCSEA subtypes was estimated, finding that one in eight children were affected by image-based abuse (12.6%) and online solicitation (12.5%), one in 21 were affected by online sexual exploitation (4.7%), and one in 28 were affected by sexual extortion (3.5%),” read the paper.
However, the authors highlight the variation in estimates among available evidence and for different regions, suggesting that more research is needed to draw stronger conclusions about the scale of OCSEA, specifically in regions where the current evidence is either limited or non-existent, i.e. West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia.
The authors also added their results are of great relevance to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to make informed decisions about allocating resources and designing effective prevention and response programmes to protect children worldwide from OCSEA.
In a review — simultaneously published in the journal — authors highlighted the need for new, collaborative policy action to protect children and adolescents against the potential mental health harms of artificial intelligence.
The viewpoint published also in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health critically examines the current research challenges and limitations related to evaluating the mental health impacts of technology on children and adolescents. The authors argue that current research and policy approaches to the mental health effects of social media and other digital technologies are inconsistent and often fail to address how different contextual factors can affect mental health.
To prepare future generations to safely interact with artificial intelligence (AI), which the authors suggest will likely be integrated into their daily actions, the authors call for researchers and policymakers to closely examine how efforts to regulate social media have failed and apply those lessons to proactively mitigate the negative mental health effects of AI on children and adolescents.
“Proactive technology regulation will depend on global collaboration between researchers, the technology industry, policymakers, practitioners, adolescents, and parents,” they said in the review.
“In cases of abuse among children that we see, online abuse has gained space. We are now seeing Internet-related abuse cases also, and in most cases children and their parents aren’t even aware of having experienced abuse or bullying. There is not related data available as it is hidden morbidity but will be a huge problem in the future,” said Dr Rajesh Sagar, professor, department of psychiatry, AIIMS, Delhi.
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