Nordic survivors share the devastating impact of online child sexual abuse
- Protect Children
- Aug 29
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 2
PRESS RELEASE
The title of the press release includes a quote from a Norwegian-speaking survivor of childhood sexual violence.
Bergen/Helsinki - 29 August 2025. Survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation across the Nordic countries are speaking out about the widespread nature and lifelong consequences of online crimes. 1,416 survivors from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden shared their stories in a groundbreaking survey by Finnish child-rights organisation, Protect Children. New findings reveal that over 90% of survivors of online abuse experience profound long-term negative consequences. Despite this, the vast majority have never received help.
New Nordic research on child sexual violence published
Today, at the Barnevakten's Anniversary Conference (Barnevaktens jubileumskonferanse) in Bergen, Protect Children released new findings from the Global Our Voice Survivor Survey. The results draw on testimonies from 1,416 survivors of child sexual violence in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Among them, 246 survivors experienced online abuse, including grooming, coercion into sexual acts with other children, involuntary exposure to pornography, or having their abuse live-streamed.
“As the online environment evolves, so do the risks to child safety. We are only beginning to understand the devastating, long-term negative impacts of online sexual violence on children. These crimes affect the lives of victims and survivors whose experiences too often go unseen and unheard.” - states Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen, Executive Director at Protect Children. Listening to the voices of survivors is essential to understanding how best we can support them and prevent future crimes.
Children are subjected to online abuse at an alarmingly young age
Most survivors first experienced online sexual violence between the ages of 10 and 15. Many were even younger, often targeted in online spaces that appeared safe and designed for children. One Finnish survivor recalled:
“As a child, I played online games made for children. Some had age-based game rooms. Yet in these rooms, there were adult men who preyed on children and sent sexually suggestive messages.”
Perpetrators within circle of trust in 4 out of 5 cases
The vast majority of survivors across the four Nordic languages (80-86%) reported that the perpetrator was someone from their circle of trust. In terms of how they first met the perpetrator, survivors across Finland, Norway, and Sweden mostly met them online or through their social circles, whereas in Denmark, most survivors said their abuser was someone in their household.
“In a notable number of cases, the perpetrator was under the age of 18. There is an urgent need to understand the impact of technology on the worrying scale of peer-to-peer and sibling sexual abuse.” - reflects Eva Díaz Bethencourt, Specialist and Human Rights Lawyer at Protect Children.
Online child sexual violence just as serious as in-person violence
Over 90% of survivors of online child sexual violence reported profound long-term negative consequences, including social challenges, anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD/PTS symptoms, suicide attempts, and eating disorders. Despite this, large numbers never received support: 71% of Danish, 40% of Finnish, 56% of Norwegian, and 52% of Swedish-speaking survivors said they had no help at all.
Read the full report here:
About the report
The findings are published in Protect Children's report: “Our Voice Norwegian Survivors: Experiences of Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, with a Comparative Analysis of Online CSAE in the Nordic Region”. The report is a part of the Global Our Voice Survivor Survey, which has gathered testimonies from over 24,600 victims and survivors worldwide in 35 languages. The survey is supported by the Justice Initiative.
Learn more: https://www.ourvoicesurvey.com/
About Protect Children
Protect Children is a non-governmental child-rights organisation based in Finland, working globally to end all forms of sexual violence against children.
Learn more: https://www.suojellaanlapsia.fi/en
Press contacts:
Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen, Executive Director | nina.vaaranen-valkonen@suojellaanlapsia.fi | +358 40 747 8829 (interviews in English and Finnish)
Eva Díaz Bethencourt, Specialist & Human Rights Lawyer | eva.diaz.bethencourt@suojellaanlapsia.fi | +358 40 084 7607 (interviews in English)
