Research shows social media used to facilitate sexual assault in children

About 7% of more than 1,000 teens who disclosed sexual abuse at a California hospital reported that social media was used to facilitate the assault, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2024 National Conference & Exhibition.

The retrospective study, “Social Media Facilitated Sexual Assault in Children,” found that, when accounting only for victims whose perpetrators were not related to them, an even higher percentage—12%— reported that social media facilitated sexual assault. The authors will present their preliminary findings during the conference at the Orlando Convention Center Sept. 27–Oct. 1.

“Adolescents are increasingly living their lives in digital spaces,” said Miguel Cano, MD, a child abuse pediatrician and author of the research. “Although there are benefits to the use of social media such as connecting with people and keeping in touch with family and friends across the globe, there are many well documented dangers as well.”

The researchers evaluated children 10 to 18 years of age who disclosed sexual abuse at Rady Children’s Hospital Chadwick Center for Children and Families between 2018 and 2023. They defined “social media facilitated sexual assault” as occurring when social media is used for communication between a victim and perpetrator that leads to sexual assault.

Dangers include meeting strangers online or being subjected to various forms of maltreatment including emotional abuse, cyber bullying, harassment, threats, exposure to sexual content, and being victims of online sexual abuse, according to the author.

Another emerging risk is “meeting” strangers virtually and then planning to meet face to face, which can often result in dangerous situations, and can at times unfortunately result in sexual abuse, according to the abstract.

Instagram and Snapchat were the two most commonly reported social media platforms used, however, multiple platforms were reported. The average age of patients was 13 years old, and 89% were female. The patient was related to the perpetrator 60% of the time. About 80% of perpetrators were adult men.

“With few oversights and regulations, parents, pediatricians, and anyone who cares for children need to understand this danger and need better tools and resources to help keep children safe from predators on social media,” Dr. Cano said.