Explore the Charts

The 2024 data indicate a narrowing of the target demographic toward the pre-pubescent (3-13 years old) age group, which now accounts for 93.24% of all cases — an all-time high concentration of harm in the primary-school age bracket.

Research consistently shows that the "Digital Divide" has shifted from access to usage patterns and duration. Children from low-income families spend roughly 40% longer on screens than middle-income peers and nearly double the time of children in affluent households. A 2024 Norwegian study found that lower-SES children spend an average of 364 minutes (over 6 hours) on the internet daily, compared to 260 minutes for high-SES peers.

This table highlights a critical divergence in how social media affects 15-year-old adolescents based on gender. Female adolescents are significantly more vulnerable both in terms of dosage (42% vs 32% high usage) and response (60% vs 35% depression symptoms, 65% vs 41% anxiety symptoms).

The digital environment has reached a critical tipping point where the volume of child sexual abuse material has surged by 87% in three years, reaching 32 million global reports. Over half of global respondents experienced sexual harm online during their childhood.

A record-breaking surge in CSAM identification, with 2024 figures surpassing the previous five-year peak by over 140%. Confirmed illegal records jumped by 202% in a single year to reach 1.63 million, indicating an unprecedented level of harmful material exchange.

1 in 5 children in Europe experience some form of abuse or exploitation. 70-85% of victims know their abuser, contradicting the stranger danger narrative. Social media platforms serve as the digital infrastructure allowing known abusers to maintain private, unmonitored contact with children outside of physical sightlines.

Approximately 1 in 10 adolescents now exhibits problematic social media behavior, defined by clinical, addiction-like symptoms such as withdrawal and inability to control usage. This risk is notably higher for girls (13%) than boys (9%). 36% of youth are in perpetual online contact with friends, peaking at 44% among 15-year-old girls.

A 7200% explosion of financial sexual extortion schemes and a 360% increase in sexual imagery involving children as young as seven. Generative AI has introduced new vectors for abuse that existing moderation tools are not equipped to handle.

A stark and intensifying gender disparity in victimisation. As of 2024, female victims comprise 98.71% of the demographic, representing a significant consolidation from an already high 94.6% baseline in 2023.

The 218% increase in exchanged records is largely attributed to a high-volume surge identified by the SafeNet Bulgaria hotline. Nearly one million pieces of previously unseen abusive content entered the system in 2024 alone, a 35% increase.