Commentary: Across the 21 countries included in the analysis, the most commonly reported
reason for not disclosing technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse was not
knowing where to go or who to tell (average 25 per cent), followed by feeling embarrassed
(average 18 per cent) and not thinking the incident was serious enough to report (average 13
per cent). Worrying about getting into trouble (average 7 per cent) and not caring enough to tell
anyone (average 7 per cent) were reported less frequently.
While the proportions for each barrier to disclosure vary across countries, the findings consistently
suggest that barriers to disclosure are shaped by a combination of practical, emotional and social
factors. These findings reinforce that disclosure processes are complex and decisions rarely driven
by a single factor. The variety of barriers that children grapple with underscores the need for a
multi-pronged approach that addresses knowledge gaps about where to report, that creates safe
spaces for children to disclose and that addresses stigma, shame and victim-blaming related to
sexual violence against children.
Finding: “Most children who did disclose, chose to do so to a friend (23 per cent), followed by one
of their siblings (11 per cent) or their mother/a female caregiver (11 per cent).”
Table overview: Table A18 presents the most commonly reported people children disclosed
instances of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse to, using data from both
rounds of the Disrupting Harm study. As analyses are conducted at the incident level, estimates
represent instances of abuse that were disclosed rather than the number of children subjected
to sexual exploitation and abuse. The table presents the top five disclosure recipients by country
and excludes responses of “prefer not to say” and “don’t know.” The average percentage across
countries is presented at the end of the table.
Table A18: Percentage of disclosure recipients (top 5) for reported instances of technologyfacilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse, by country (2020–2025).
Through Children’s Eyes
Appendix
85
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