60% of Teen Victims of Online Sexual Exploitation "Told No One"

Online Sexual Solicitation Occurs Mainly on Social Media

Only 4 Percent Used Platform or App Reporting Functions

It has been found that more than 60% of teenagers who were asked to engage in unwanted sexual conversations or to send sexual images online did not disclose their experiences to anyone.

According to the "2025 Survey on Prostitution" released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on July 23, a survey was conducted last year with 4,203 middle and high school students nationwide. As a result, among 201 teenagers who experienced online sexual solicitation, a total of 273 cases were confirmed.

Among the victims, 62.9% did not report their experiences. The most common reason for not disclosing the incidents was because they felt "it was not serious enough to report or tell someone" (44.1%). This was followed by "being too embarrassed" (10.4%) and "not wanting anyone to find out" (8.1%).

When facing online sexual solicitation, teenagers were more likely to respond passively rather than report the incidents. Of all the reported cases, 43.9% involved ignoring the perpetrator’s requests without giving any response. Additionally, 11.5% blocked the perpetrator, 8.3% warned the person to stop, and 6.8% exited or deleted the app or website. In contrast, only 4.0% used the reporting function of a platform or app, while 14.8% complied with the perpetrator’s requests. The most common reason for not reporting the perpetrator through the platform was "not considering it important enough to report" (39.8%).

The majority of incidents of online sexual solicitation occurred through social networking services. More than half (51.9%) of all cases happened via SNS and feed-type platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, and others.

However, the overall online sexual solicitation victimization rate has decreased from 11.1% in 2019, to 5.3% in 2022, and 4.8% in 2025, based on the number of affected individuals. The victimization rate was higher for female students (5.3%) than for male students (4.3%). Middle school students (5.4%) had a higher rate of experiencing such incidents than high school students (3.9%).

The age at which sexual exploitation is first experienced by victims is gradually becoming lower. Of 201 at-risk youth aged 12 to 18 who used one of the 17 national support centers for child and adolescent victims of sexual exploitation, the survey found that of the 151 respondents to detailed questions, the most common age for first experience was 14 (30.5%). This was followed by age 15 (20.5%), ages 13 and 16 or older (each 18.5%), and age 12 (7.3%).

There was even one respondent (0.7%) who experienced exploitation at age 11. In previous surveys in 2019 and 2022, there were no cases involving 11-year-olds, and those involving 12-year-olds constituted only 1.3% and 3.3%, respectively, indicating a trend of sexual exploitation spreading to younger ages.

Of the 151 respondents with experience of victimization, 82 (54.3%) reported experiencing additional harm during the process. According to a multiple-response survey of secondary harm types, the most common was rape or forced sexual intercourse (35.4%), followed by verbal abuse/threats and cases where the promised money was not given or was underpaid (each 29.3%). Among the 82 who suffered additional harm, 52.4% said they had asked for help. The most frequent reason for not seeking help was "fear of being punished" (25.6%), followed by "reluctance to have the incident revealed" (20.5%), and "not knowing where to seek help" (12.8%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.