WASHINGTON: About 1.5 million internet-using children in Pakistan experienced sexual exploitation or abuse facilitated by digital technology in a single year, according to new research, as a senior United Nations official warns that artificial intelligence and overlapping global crises are creating new dangers for children.
Presenting her final report to the UN General Assembly on Monday, Najat Maalla M’jid, the secretary general’s Special Representative on Violence Against Children, urged governments to strengthen protections for children facing multiple and overlapping crises.
“Almost 45 million children are displaced because of conflict, but also because of natural disasters, because of the climate crisis,” she told journalists at UN Headquarters in New York. Rapid advances in technology are creating new risks alongside opportunities for children to learn and communicate. Artificial intelligence has opened what Ms M’jid described as “huge avenues for child sexual exploitation”, as well as “cyberbullying, deepfakes and the recruitment of children into criminal activities.”
Her presentation marked 20 years since the first UN global study on violence against children. Despite progress, she warned, the world continued to face complex and overlapping crises in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Troubling picture
Nearly one in 16 internet-using children aged 12 to 17 in Pakistan — approximately 1.5 million children — experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year, according to Disrupting Harm in Pakistan, a study published by Unicef, ECPAT International and INTERPOL in September 2026.
The UN General Assembly on Monday identified AI-generated sexual material as an emerging risk. The abuses include unwanted sexual images or conversations, demands for intimate photographs, the non-consensual sharing of children’s images, and sexual threats or blackmail.
The findings challenge the perception that online abuse is mainly perpetrated by strangers. In 85 per cent of the incidents cited by children, the perpetrator was someone they already knew. Social media accounted for 44pc of reported instances of abuse, making it the most commonly reported digital setting.
Fear, stigma and possible repercussions at home often prevent children from seeking help. Victims may fear being blamed, humiliated or subjected to restrictions by their families. Boys, too, risk being overlooked because of social expectations about masculinity and the reluctance to discuss sexual abuse.
Unicef says more than half of children who experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse did not tell anyone. None of the children surveyed reported their experiences through formal channels such as helplines, social workers or the police.
These findings highlight the need for safe, confidential and accessible reporting systems, as well as support that allows children to seek help without fear of blame or punishment.
Poverty and displacement
Online abuse is part of a wider child-protection challenge shaped by poverty, displacement and disrupted access to essential services. Ms M’jid warned that poverty, food insecurity and rising prices were deepening children’s vulnerability worldwide. Economic hardship can expose children to exploitation, while conflict and natural disasters can disrupt education and weaken family support systems.
Climate-related emergencies add to these pressures across South Asia. Unicef estimates that weather-related disasters displaced 15.6m children in the region between 2016 and 2022. In Bangladesh, climate-related events disrupted schooling for 35m children in 2024.
These figures concern different aspects of children’s vulnerability; they do not establish a direct link between displacement and online sexual abuse. They nevertheless underline the importance of maintaining child-protection services during emergencies and ensuring that vulnerable families can access support.
For Pakistan, the challenge is to address both the risks created by digital technologies and the social and economic circumstances that can leave children without adequate protection. The Pakistani study identifies weaknesses in the systems intended to prevent online abuse, investigate cases and support victims. Children need safe and accessible ways to report abuse, while investigations must be conducted by appropriately trained personnel. Victims must also be able to obtain support without being exposed to further humiliation or trauma.
The study identifies gaps in Pakistan’s legal framework. Legislation does not require child forensic interviews to be systematically conducted by specially trained professionals, increasing the risk of secondary victimisation during investigations.
Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026