Children often become victims of online sexual violence in Finland

Online sexual violence is becoming more and more common and targeting younger and younger children, according to police statistics.

The majority of sexual assaults on children reported to the police in 2026 occurred or the course of events began on the internet, said police in a press release on Tuesday referring to the statistics.

Similarly, most of the cases, in which it is suspected that a young person has been offered compensation for a sexual act, that have come to the attention of the police this year have taken place online.

Sexual offences against children and reported to the police as a whole have also increased.

A total of 801 cases of sexual abuse of a child were reported to the police in 2023, while in 2025, the number of these cases reported to the police was as high as 1,517.

According to a recent survey by the Finnish organisation Protect Children, online sexual violence typically begins when the victim of the act is about ten years old.

According to a survey conducted by Save the Children Finland, more than one out of four respondents aged 11 to 17 had received a sexual message, and 15 per cent had sent one themselves in the past year.

One in three children said that they had been contacted on social media or online by an adult or a person at least five years older than themselves.

However, no adult has a justified reason to be in direct contact on social media or online with a child or young person they do not know. Two thirds of the children who had been contacted by an adult had experienced sexual violence as a result of the contact.

The responsibility for sexual violence always lies solely with the perpetrator.

However, online violence contains features that parents should be aware of and also tell their child about them in an age-appropriate manner.

A suitable point in time to instruct the child in the safe use of the internet is at the latest when the child is allowed to use smart devices independently.

“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. In addition, it is a good idea to discuss with children where the content published online may end up and why there is no need to respond to all friend requests or contacts,” said Superintendent of the National Police Board Saara Asmundela.