Worldwide, an estimated 10 percent of boys and 13 percent of girls had been victims of online solicitation in 2023. Estimated prevalence that year was highest in West and Central Africa among boys and in Western Europe among girls. The estimates should be taken cautiously, as the actual prevalence may be significantly higher than the estimated value.
Prevalence estimates of child online solicitation worldwide, by UNICEF region and gender
Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh)
Release date
July 2024
More information
Region
Worldwide
Survey time period
2008 to 2021
Age group
Less than 18 years
Supplementary notes
No data was available for South Asia.
Online solicitation includes the following behaviors: online grooming, online solicitation, online sexual harassment, pressure to obtain images, voluntarily provided images in a statutorily impermissible relationship, unwanted/non-consensual/pressured sexting, and unwanted sexual talk.
Estimates for each region can vary considerably.
Methodology: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies conducted 2011-2021 (lifetime recall) and 2008-2021 (past year recall).
*The uncertainty for boys varies from two to 23.8 percent, for girls from 0.5 to 34.8 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
**The uncertainty for boys varies from 8.7 to 26.3 percent, for girls from 6.8 to 31.2 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
***The uncertainty for boys varies from 6.6 to 11.6 percent, for girls from 9.5 to 15.3 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
****The uncertainty for boys varies from 5.8 to 6.5 percent, for girls from two to 21.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
*****The uncertainty for boys varies from 2.1 to 20.8 percent, for girls from 6.9 to 29 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
******The uncertainty for boys varies from 19.6 to 24.6 percent, for girls from 12.9 to 17.3 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
*******The uncertainty for boys varies from 6.9 to 15 percent, for girls from 11 to 23.8 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
********The uncertainty for boys varies from 7.1 to 13.7 percent, for girls from 9.2 to 18.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval).
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Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh). (July 30, 2024). Prevalence estimates of child online solicitation worldwide, by UNICEF region and gender [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1495768/estimated-prevalence-child-online-solicitation-gender/
Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh). "Prevalence estimates of child online solicitation worldwide, by UNICEF region and gender." Chart. July 30, 2024. Statista. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1495768/estimated-prevalence-child-online-solicitation-gender/
Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh). (2024). Prevalence estimates of child online solicitation worldwide, by UNICEF region and gender. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 19, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1495768/estimated-prevalence-child-online-solicitation-gender/
Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh). "Prevalence Estimates of Child Online Solicitation Worldwide, by Unicef Region and Gender." Statista, Statista Inc., 30 Jul 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1495768/estimated-prevalence-child-online-solicitation-gender/
Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh), Prevalence estimates of child online solicitation worldwide, by UNICEF region and gender Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1495768/estimated-prevalence-child-online-solicitation-gender/ (last visited November 19, 2024)
Prevalence estimates of child online solicitation worldwide, by UNICEF region and gender [Graph], Childlight -Global Child Safety Institute (Hosted by the University of Edinburgh), July 30, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1495768/estimated-prevalence-child-online-solicitation-gender/
