On April 2, 2026, researchers at Georgia State University, the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, Together for Girls, and twelve other organizations published in Nature Human Behaviour what they describe as the largest evidence base ever assembled on childhood sexual violence. The systematic review and meta-analysis examined 1,412 studies across 147 countries using 10 English-language databases, 23 non-English databases, and over 20 grey literature sources covering records from January 2010 to August 2024.

Why It Matters

This study provides the definitive baseline data that regulators, platforms, and the sex tech industry have been arguing about without — quantifying the actual scope of childhood sexual violence globally. For the sex tech industry, the implications are direct: age verification systems, content moderation mandates, and platform safety regulations are built on the premise that children face real harm. This study demonstrates that harm at unprecedented scale. The data will almost certainly be cited in upcoming regulatory proceedings including the TAKE IT DOWN Act enforcement framework, state age verification legislation, and the EU's Digital Services Act enforcement actions.

The study's headline findings are staggering: an estimated 1 in 5 women and 1 in 6 men worldwide experienced sexual violence during childhood, with researchers calculating that over 130 million children globally experienced sexual violence in 2024 alone. The scale of the problem far exceeds previous estimates and underscores the inadequacy of current prevention and intervention systems.

The research is notable for its methodological rigor — spanning nearly every country on earth and incorporating non-English literature that is typically excluded from Western-focused meta-analyses. The findings arrive at a moment when AI-generated CSAM is exploding (the IWF reported a 26,385% increase in AI-generated CSAM videos in 2025) and platforms are racing to implement age verification and content moderation systems.

Sources

Update — 2026-04-03

Initial entry — story first created.