Online sexual violence targeting children is becoming more common in Finland, with police reporting that most child sexual assault cases recorded this year either occurred online or began through internet contact.
The National Police Board said the trend is affecting increasingly younger children and called on parents and guardians to discuss online safety openly with their children before they begin using digital devices independently.
Police statistics show that reports of child sexual abuse have almost doubled in recent years. A total of 801 cases were recorded in 2023, rising to 1,517 in 2025. Most investigations this year involving suspected offers of payment in exchange for sexual acts with young people have also originated online.
According to research by the Finnish child protection organisation Protect Children, victims of online sexual violence are typically around 10 years old when the abuse begins.
A separate survey by Save the Children Finland found that more than one in four children aged between 11 and 17 had received a sexual message during the past year, while 15% said they had sent one themselves. One in three respondents reported being contacted online by an adult or by someone at least five years older than them.
Police said around two-thirds of children contacted by an adult online experienced sexual violence following that contact.
Saara Asmundela, Superintendent at the National Police Board, said parents should explain to children that the internet carries risks similar to those found offline.
“It is important to talk with children about the downsides of the internet: just like offline, there are people online who want to hurt others or use them for their own ends,” Asmundela said.
She also urged parents to discuss where material shared online might end up and why children should not accept every friend request or respond to every message.
The National Police Board warned that artificial intelligence is creating new risks.
Police said an increasing amount of child sexual abuse material is being created with artificial intelligence using ordinary photographs of children that have been shared online by either the children themselves or their parents.
“Parents of children should understand these risks. Therefore, you should consider carefully whether to upload any images online at all and, if you do, what kind of images you upload,” Asmundela said.
Authorities also highlighted the growing use of online grooming, where offenders build trust by pretending to be another young person before gradually introducing sexual content into conversations.
Police said requests for explicit images are sometimes presented as online challenges. Once images have been shared, offenders often demand money or additional material while threatening to distribute the pictures to the child’s family and friends.
Information that children share publicly on social media about themselves or their relatives can also be used as part of blackmail attempts.
The National Police Board said children of every gender become victims of online sexual violence, although girls are affected more often. Cases involving financial extortion linked to sexual images, sometimes known as sextortion, are becoming increasingly common and are directed almost exclusively at boys.
Police believe only a small proportion of offences ever reach investigators.
Many children do not report what has happened because they feel ashamed or guilty. Research also suggests that many young victims do not recognise online sexual violence as a criminal offence or consider it serious enough to report.
The police warned that online sexual violence can have lasting consequences comparable to abuse committed in person.
The National Police Board has published practical guidance for parents, educators and children on safe internet use, including advice on online safety, parental controls, social media age limits and recognising inappropriate contact.
HT