Amongst children who reported unsafe or embarrassing online experiences, Instagram emerged as the top platform — in 77 percent of cases.
Published Jun 17, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 23, 2025 | 8:49 AM
Online abuse of children. Representative Image. (iStock)
Synopsis: A recent state-level study by ChildFund India uncovered worrisome patterns around Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children. The report presented evidence of significant risks children face online, amplified by pandemic-induced screen time surges and a lack of digital safety awareness.
When 14-year-old Radhika (name changed) received a friend request from someone who said he admired her dance videos on Instagram, she was thrilled. Within weeks, the chats turned strange. He asked her to send photos. She felt unsafe and blocked him. However, she never told her parents.
“I didn’t want them to think I did something wrong,” she later told a teacher during a digital safety session in Bengaluru. She was among the very few children who had access to such a session, which makes her story unusual — most children in Karnataka don’t get that chance.
A recent state-level study by ChildFund India, in partnership with Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), uncovered worrisome patterns around Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC). The study found that OSEAC is more prevalent than commonly assumed, and far more hidden.
The report — the first of its kind in Karnataka — covered five districts: Bengaluru Urban, Belagavi, Chikkamagaluru, Raichur, and Chamarajanagar. The report presented evidence of significant risks children face online, amplified by pandemic-induced screen time surges and a lack of digital safety awareness.
Over 900 school-going children, 300 parents, 24 out-of-school children, and 60 teachers were interviewed. There was an urban-rural mix from five Karnataka districts based on crime vulnerability and digital exposure. Children between the ages of eight and 18 years were covered, split into three categories — 8-11, 12-14 and 15-18 years.
OSEAC includes online grooming, sextortion, cyberstalking, sharing of sexually explicit content, and soliciting minors through chatrooms, games or social media. The perpetrators often remain anonymous and exploit children’s trust, ignorance, or emotional vulnerabilities.
According to the report, accessed by South First, the findings are alarming.
“This is not a tech problem. It’s a trust and silence problem,” said Dr Nirja S Mattoo, Secretary of ChildFund India, who was part of the study.
While 90 percent of older teens (15–18 years) and 90 percent of younger children used phones or laptops, only 20 percent had attended any digital safety sessions. Among the out-of-school group — arguably the most vulnerable — only four out of every 24 children had even heard of such a session.
Amongst children who reported unsafe or embarrassing online experiences, Instagram emerged as the top platform — in 77 percent of cases. Of these children:
Even more worrying was that 16 percent of 15-18-year-olds had befriended strangers online, and 10 percent of them had met those strangers in person. For 15 percent, the experience caused immediate harm.
The pandemic may have ended, but its digital legacy lingers. With schools closed and parents busy, screen time surged. While this expanded learning also opened the door to risk.
It was noted that screen use of older children skyrocketed, and most of them used mobile phones unsupervised. Mothers were found to be primary caregivers, but their active involvement had dropped in early adolescence (12-14 years) before picking up again later.
“As kids grow older, parents often assume they are more responsible online. That assumption is dangerous,” said a school counsellor from Bengaluru on condition of anonymity.
The report highlighted a clear shift in whom children confide in — from parents to peers — as they grow older. For 15–18-year-olds, friends became the primary support system for dealing with the embarrassment of secrets.
The study also revealed a gender paradox.
“Male children were more likely to initiate online friendships with strangers than females, and also reported lower risk perception,” the report stated.
However, girls showed higher awareness of online risks, likely due to targeted safety messages.
“But awareness doesn’t equal action. Children often don’t report abuse. Why? Fear, shame, or simply not knowing what to do,” Shashidhar Kosambe, a member of KSCPCR, explained to South First.
Even among parents, only 34 percent who knew about their child’s abuse reported it to the police. Of them, 50 percent chose to delete chats or block the perpetrator instead.
The report said that many teachers, who were interviewed, acknowledged OSEAC but admitted that they lacked the training to respond to it.
“We talk about good touch and bad touch in sex education sessions. But no one trains us about what to do when a child is being harassed online,” said a teacher from Chamarajanagar.
District officials linked rising abuse to socioeconomic stress, unsupervised access to devices and peer pressure. Adolescents, especially girls from marginalised groups, were seen as the most vulnerable.
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) highlighted underreporting due to social stigma, victim blaming and lack of trust in authorities.
In focus groups comprising community leaders and parents, researchers found low awareness, a tendency to blame victims, and a general belief that OSEAC is a “city problem”. Several among them also blamed children for “inviting” trouble — a notion, experts say, which is not just false, but deeply damaging.
“Victims end up isolated; first by the perpetrator, then by society,” said Rajesh Ranjan Singh, a board member of ChildFund India.
The report concluded with a six-point action plan:
The report doesn’t mince words: Karnataka’s children are being left alone in a digital world they don’t fully understand — and the adults meant to protect them are unprepared.
“It’s time we shift the focus from just giving children devices to ensuring we give them safe spaces, digital confidence, and the power to say no,” said K Naganna Gowda, chairperson, KSCPCR.
“Because behind every statistic is a child who didn’t speak — and a system that didn’t ask, Kosambe said.
“We cannot afford to wait. Every ignored chat, every unreported image, and every silenced child is a failure of the system. Online sexual abuse is not virtual —it has very real, lasting consequences. Acting now is not optional; it is urgent,” he added.
If you or someone you know is experiencing online harassment or abuse, reach out to the Cyber Crime Portal at www.cybercrime.gov.in or call Childline at 1098.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
