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The article is titled “More than a quarter of Canadian teens have experienced sexual violence online.” It was originally published on October 6, 2025 and is authored by Charlotte Nau, PhD Candidate in Media Studies, Western University; Christopher Dietzel, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University; and Estefanía Reyes, PhD student, Sociology, Western University.

Law enforcement agencies across Canada are sounding the alarm over a rise in sexual extortion (“sextortion”) against young people.
The problem goes far beyond sextortion, as this is only one form of many variations of online sexual harms that target youth today. Teenagers in Canada can be victims of sexual catfishing, AI-generated sexual deepfakes and violent extremism.
Some high-profile sextortion incidents include the deaths by suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons, Amanda Todd, Daniel Lints and a boy in British Columbia.
The scale of the problem
Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) includes harmful practices such as sexual name-calling and rumour spreading, non-consensual distribution of intimate images (nudes) and other forms of sexual harassment.
Our research team recently conducted a survey with more than 1,000 teens aged 13 to 18 across Canada to learn about youths’ experiences with TFSV.
Our findings underscore how widespread these harms are: more than a quarter of the teens (28 per cent) reported experiencing at least one form of TFSV.
In addition to so many youth experiencing TFSV, almost half (47 per cent) said that TFSV had happened to someone they knew. The most common forms of TFSV reported in our survey were receiving unwanted sexual images (15 per cent), encountering unwanted porn (13 per cent) and being sexually harassed online (11 per cent).
Online platforms
We also asked the teens which social media sites and online gaming services had the most sexual harassment. The platform they mentioned most often was Snapchat, followed by TikTok and Instagram. Snapchat has been known for its potential risks to youth and privacy concerns.
Girls experienced TFSV at a higher rate (32 per cent) than boys (23 per cent), which is consistent with research from Statistics Canada.
Teens who said they were neurodivergent or had a learning disability were more likely to be subjected to TFSV (39 per cent). TFSV was also higher among teens with a mental health condition (40 per cent).
These findings are consistent with previous research that showed higher victimization rates among people with disabilities.
A small but significant number of teens (seven per cent) reported committing at least one form of TFSV. This was more common among boys (nine per cent) than girls (six per cent).
Insufficient support
Parents and guardians were the most relevant source of support for teens who had been subjected to TFSV. Nearly half (44 per cent) of the teens turned to them, and most of these teens found them helpful.
The teens were much less likely to seek support from institutions. Only about one in 10 (12 per cent) told someone at their school, with only seven per cent telling the police. Unfortunately, these numbers are consistent with other statistics, as most people do not report sexual violence to the police.
Young people showed little confidence in the reporting tools and moderation systems of social media platforms. As little as five per cent of the teens had used these to report sexually harmful materials. Almost one in three teens (29 per cent) thought that the digital platforms should do a better job supporting them.
This finding is important to consider as social media companies are dropping content moderation, making their platforms possibly more hazardous for youth.
Teens’ misconceptions
Most teens (90 per cent and up) knew that several forms of TFSV were illegal in Canada. However, they were less certain when asked if it was legal to create a fake sexual video of someone. This is unsurprising: legal views of sexual deepfakes vary by province. Some allow civil action, while others treat it as child pornography.
The teens’ knowledge of the law was incomplete in other areas. Almost two-thirds (61 per cent) thought that sending a nude picture of themselves to other youth was illegal. This is not true. Minors can share sexual images with each other as long as they are consensual and kept private between them; that most teens don’t know this is troubling.
Sexting and sharing nudes is a common form of sexual expression among teens. In our survey, teens who though that nude image sharing was illegal were less likely to seek help with TFSV.
Some teens (26 per cent) thought that taking a nude picture of themselves was illegal. This is also incorrect.
These misconceptions matter, as young people need to be informed about their legal rights to sexual expression. Proper education will prevent shame, fear and other barriers to seeking support when someone is distributing their images against their will or coercing them into harmful practices.
An urgent issue
Social media and other forms of digital communication are central to young people’s lives, which means that addressing TFSV is an urgent issue. While the federal government and some provincial governments have taken steps or proposed legislation aimed at protecting youth, some responses have been proven to be unrealistic and ineffective.
Governments — and tech companies in particular — need to do more to prevent TFSV and support youth who experience it.
Schools can also take action to help youth. However, there is considerable variation in the TFSV responses and interventions within educational curricula, policies and legislation across the provinces and territories. This means that even though TFSV is a common problem, most parents, teachers, police and frontline workers lack the resources and strategies needed to respond effectively and promptly.
Our findings highlight the impact of these shortcomings on teens, as many youth in our survey did not receive help for TFSV, even when they sought it out. In many instances, telling others actually made the situation worse.
TFSV is a gendered problem that disproportionately impacts certain groups. It is important to keep in mind who is most at risk when developing TFSV resources and interventions.
We believe that with evidence-informed and co-ordinated action from the private and public sectors, young people can live in a digital world where they feel safe online and can easily access effective resources and support.

More than a quarter of Canadian teens have experienced sexual violence online

October 6, 2025 • My Project Name

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