In many cases, threats and blackmail emerged when a relationship was ending or when one person began distancing themselves and sought to break off contact. This highlights how relationships that initially appear trusting and consensual can quickly shift into coercion, threats and abuse when one party attempts to end the relationship. A young woman in Serbia shared how she was threatened when she tried to end the relationship with her boyfriend: “I said like ‘Listen, I really don’t want to be with you anymore’ and I think that’s when the blackmailing started. Like, ‘I will post your photos on Facebook, everyone will see them’.” In these situations, control is maintained through fear of exposure. From that point, children are drawn into escalating pressure, leaving them with little space to refuse, step away, or make it stop. Non-consensual sharing of sexual content Although it can lead to harm, some young people today may not see sharing sexual images with others as inherently harmful, but part of relationship-building, flirtation and sexual exploration in a digital age. In our research, young people described sharing images because they were having fun, felt emotionally close to someone, were in love, trusted the recipient, or simply did not see anything wrong with it at the time. A young woman from Colombia who had suffered various forms of abuse and harassment since childhood explained: “When I had my first boyfriend, we sometimes sent each other photos. He was my first boyfriend, it was something very respectful, I don’t know how to explain it ... Because I remember that my parents found out about those conversations I had with my boyfriend and they scolded me a lot: ‘It’s that you don’t make yourself respected’, all that. And I would say, but, I want to do it, I mean, he’s my boyfriend, I like him.” Through Children’s Eyes How does digital technology enable sexual exploitation and abuse? 15