Children most likely to be sexually abused on Facebook and WhatsApp - report finds

South African children are most likely to experience online sexual exploitation and abuse on two social media platforms – Facebook and WhatsApp, a report has found.

The Disrupting Harm in South Africa report, which details evidence of online child abuse based on self-reported data, found that almost 60% of all online child sexual exploitation and abuse incidents happened on social media. Another 17% took place via text or instant messaging.

Online child sexual exploitation and abuse refers to situations involving digital, internet, and communication technologies at some point during the abuse or exploitation.