Children do not always recognize these experiences as abusive. They can feel confusing, easy to dismiss, or not “serious enough” to tell anyone about. A girl from Mexico told us how, when she was only 12 years old, someone she did not know started sending her unwanted sexual images through Facebook: “Well, at that age you have very little information about types of harassment, types of violence, so I felt very uncomfortable, but at that moment I did not, for example, block him and I did not stop replying, right? I kept replying and asking who he was, no? Because I did not know him, we did not have any friends in common.” When these experiences are not understood as abusive – or are ignored or normalized – perpetrators are able to continue unchecked and escalate the harm. Over time, children may find it increasingly difficult to disclose harm or seek help, especially if they feel shame, self-doubt, or a sense of being to blame for continuing the interaction or sharing sexual content. Sexual solicitation and extortion The harm doesn’t always stop at seeing or receiving something unwanted. It moves into conversation, where messages become requests. A girl from Brazil highlights being exposed to sexual content via online calls, messages and videos when she was 16 years old: An estimated 9 million children were asked to engage in sexual conversations or to share sexual images or videos when they did not want to. “He’d already sent several photos. M*****b*****, lying down, he sent me a message and wrote: ‘I want you to be mine. My little wh***, my hottie. I want to be with you.’ He sent me a lot of messages.” That is about 1 in 12 internetusing children on average, in a single year. Through Children’s Eyes How does digital technology enable sexual exploitation and abuse? 12