One in four teenage girls has been asked about sending nude photos or performing sexual acts for money

Today, it is commonplace for many young girls to be asked to accept money or gifts in exchange for sending sexual material. One in four girls aged 15 to 19 has been asked, according to a new national Sifo survey commissioned by Child10.

-“It’s terrible that so many children and young people are exposed to this form of sexual crime. The adult world is all too often completely unaware of this and must do much more to be there for the children and young people who are exposed,” says Jacob Flärdh, Secretary General of the Child10 Foundation.

The Sifo survey was conducted in September 2022 and was answered by a nationally representative sample of 1001 people aged 15 to 19. One in four girls, 24%, say they have been asked to accept money or gifts in exchange for sending undressed or sexy pictures or videos. The corresponding figure among boys is 4%. One in ten girls has been asked to meet someone to have sex or perform sexual acts for money.

– For many girls, being exposed to questions about sex for money is part of everyday life, especially online. At the same time, we know that adults rarely talk to children and young people about this form of sexual exploitation. This also means that the children who are exposed are not comfortable talking to adults about what they are exposed to,” says Jacob Flärdh.

The survey also shows that 8% of girls and 4% of boys have sent sexual material or met someone to perform sexual acts for some form of remuneration. At national level, this corresponds to 36,000 children and young people. The most common platform for abuse to occur is Snapchat.

– This means that on average there are one to two students in every 9th grade and upper secondary school who have been victims of this type of sexual crime. Parents, schools and health services have a big responsibility to talk much more about this to build trust with children and young people. New methods are also needed to counteract this crime and bring more perpetrators to justice,” says Jacob Flärdh.

Key figures from the survey

• One in four girls aged 15-19 has been asked to send nude photos or videos online for money.
• One in ten girls has been asked to meet someone for sex or to perform sexual acts for money.
• The equivalent of 36,000 children and young people aged 15 to 19 have received payment in exchange for performing sexual acts. This corresponds to 1-2 people in each class in grade 9 and in upper secondary school.
• The most common platform to be subjected to paid abuse is Snapchat.

For more information contact
Johanna Wilkens, Communications Manager Child10
Tel: 079 102 36 36 Mail: johanna@child10.org

About the Sifo survey: The Sifo survey was conducted in September 2022 and was answered by 1001 people between the ages of 15 and 19. The respondents are a representative cross-section of the population of those ages.

Read the annex on the survey