Overview
- An analysis hosted by the University of Edinburgh estimates about 7% of children in Western Europe are raped or sexually assaulted before 18, with higher prevalence among girls (9.7%) than boys (3.9%).
- Nearly one in five children report online solicitation or grooming before adulthood, indicating roughly 15 million affected across the region.
- Reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material to the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children jumped from about 4,700 in 2023 to over 67,000 in 2024, a rise cited as roughly 1,300%.
- The synthesis draws on 48 population-based studies from 19 European countries and was led by Professor Deborah Fry for the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute.
- Childlight’s leaders say much abuse occurs behind closed doors and in children’s digital spaces, urging greater platform accountability, regulatory action, and investment to address underreporting and long-term harms.