In entrance of screens throughout America, a quiet disaster is unfolding. Sexual extortion has turn out to be a really actual menace that’s casting a darkish shadow over younger lives.
Thorn’s newest analysis, titled Sexual Extortion & Younger Individuals: Navigating Threats in Digital Environments, locations the highlight on this manipulative, isolating abuse. We surveyed 1,200 younger folks, ages 13 to twenty, as they shared their experiences with sextortion.
From that analysis, we discovered that 1 in 7 victims had been pushed to hurt themselves because of their expertise. For LGBTQ+ youth, who’re much less more likely to have an offline assist system which might enhance their isolation, that quantity practically triples to twenty-eight% in comparison with their non-LGBTQ+ friends. Behind every of those numbers is a teenager feeling trapped, afraid, and probably hopeless.
This analysis is a name to motion. By sharing the state of sextortion in 2025, we hope to shine a lightweight on the way it occurs, who’s in danger, and what we are able to all do to struggle again. Our kids need to develop up exploring the digital world with out worry. This analysis offers us an understanding of the digital security nets we should implement to make that occur.
The present panorama of sextortion
Sextortion is a type of abuse the place somebody threatens to share non-public sexual photographs or movies except their calls for are met. It’s not nearly cash—it’s about energy, management, and inflicting worry. For the sufferer, it may well really feel like being trapped with no manner out.
“Sextortion is evolving—calls for now span past youngster sexual abuse to incorporate cash, management, and bodily violence towards victims and people round them. Its scale is rising, with perpetrators leveraging the round the clock availability of platforms designed to assist folks join and construct relationships, turning these very instruments into devices of isolation and exploitation.”
- Melissa Stroebel,
Vice President of Analysis & Strategic Influence, Thorn
This abuse takes many types, at occasions overlapping, and understanding them helps us higher shield younger folks:
Relational sextortion: When somebody the sufferer feels they know—typically a romantic accomplice, buddy, and even member of the family—makes use of intimate photographs to regulate or manipulate them. The calls for normally require the sufferer to stay in or return to a relationship with the perpetrator.
Exploitative content material sextortion: Calls for the sufferer share extra intimate photographs, movies, or different materials.
Monetary sextortion: The extortionist calls for cash to forestall photographs from being shared, typically perpetrated by organized legal networks that regularly goal younger males.
Sadistic sextortion: Not too long ago on the rise, these calls for embody struggling or submission by way of violence, self-harm, or destruction. Typically coordinated by way of organized, on-line teams.
Whereas the specifics of every abusive interplay differ, they share a standard thread: expertise is sort of at all times concerned. Our analysis discovered that 81% of sextortion threats occurred completely on-line, with solely 6% occurring fully in individual. Social media platforms, gaming websites, and messaging apps have turn out to be the first areas the place perpetrators discover, goal, and/or threaten younger folks.
The size of this drawback is alarming. One in 5 teenagers in our survey reported experiencing sextortion. That’s not only a statistic—it represents thousands and thousands of younger folks going through threats which have actual penalties on their psychological well being and put them in danger for additional hurt.
Age is one other crucial issue. Our analysis discovered that 1 in 6 victims had been age 12 or youthful after they first skilled sextortion. These youthful kids are notably weak, as they typically lack the emotional instruments to acknowledge manipulation and will not know tips on how to search assist when focused
How sextortion occurs right now
Understanding how sextortion unfolds may also help caregivers, educators, and expertise platforms higher shield younger folks from this hurt. Whereas every scenario is exclusive, our analysis reveals frequent patterns in how this abuse occurs.
Even when the perpetrator is aware of the sufferer offline, sextortion threats typically start with on-line contact, both by way of social media, gaming platforms, or messaging apps. Perpetrators could use pretend profiles, pose as friends, or leverage present in-person relationships to construct belief with potential victims. In some instances, the abuser spends time attending to know the younger individual earlier than making any calls for. In others, particularly monetary sextortion schemes, they transfer rapidly to manipulation.
One alarming discovering is how quickly these conditions can escalate. Almost one-third (30%) of victims skilled calls for inside simply 24 hours of preliminary contact. This quick timeline offers younger folks little time to acknowledge warning indicators or search assist earlier than going through threats.
Expertise performs a central position in nearly all sextortion instances, with 94% of threats made by way of digital platforms. Nevertheless, how expertise is used varies:
- In monetary sextortion, perpetrators typically goal victims they don’t know personally, utilizing social media or gaming platforms to make preliminary contact earlier than rapidly transferring to calls for for cash.
- In relationship-based sextortion, present offline relationships leverage in style apps and textual content messaging providers to remain linked even after they aren’t collectively. In sextortion, that entry creates alternative for threats and intimidation.
The calls for made by perpetrators additionally fluctuate:
- 39% demanded extra sexual photographs
- 31% demanded in-person conferences
- 25% made relationship calls for (like staying in a relationship)
- 22% demanded cash
In practically three-fourths of instances, the perpetrator used the specter of sharing sexual photographs or private info with others to stress the sufferer into complying with calls for. Perpetrators typically threaten to ship photographs to relations, mates, or classmates—folks whose opinions matter deeply to the younger sufferer. This focused strategy makes sextortion notably efficient at controlling victims by way of worry and disgrace, preserving them trapped and remoted whereas the abuse continues.
Including to this complexity, many victims by no means voluntarily shared photographs within the first place. Our analysis discovered that 44% of victims reported that their photographs had been recorded or screenshotted with out consent and 13% reported that they had been extorted by somebody utilizing an AI-generated deepfake nude. This creates an extra layer of violation for victims.
Making a safer future
Regardless of the severity of sextortion, many younger victims endure in silence. Our analysis discovered that 16% of victims by no means informed anybody about their expertise. This silence prevents them from getting the assistance they want and the abuse to proceed.
A number of elements create boundaries that maintain younger folks from looking for assist in instances of sextortion:
- Disgrace and embarrassment typically stop victims from coming ahead. Many really feel they are going to be judged, blamed, or punished for having shared photographs within the first place. This stigma and victim-blaming are important components that abusers typically depend on to take care of management.
- Concern of escalation retains victims quiet. They fear that telling somebody may result in the perpetrator finishing up their threats or making the scenario worse.
- Ignorance about obtainable assets leaves many younger folks feeling like they’ve nowhere to show.
- Concern about shedding entry to units or platforms if mother and father or guardians react by limiting on-line actions.
Whereas looking for assist feels unattainable for a lot of victims, breaking the silence is commonly step one towards ending the abuse and starting restoration.
“Simply please don’t maintain this a secret. Inform somebody, anybody, everybody straight away. Don’t wait, somebody will consider you and can provide help to.” – Male, 15 years previous, United States
The position of fogeys and caregivers
Open, judgment-free conversations about on-line security are important. Younger folks should know they will come to trusted adults if one thing goes flawed on-line, with out worry of punishment or shedding entry to their units. These conversations ought to:
- Begin early, earlier than kids are actively impartial on-line
- Embrace clear discussions about sextortion and the way it occurs
- Concentrate on constructing belief slightly than instilling worry
- Emphasize that victims are by no means guilty for his or her exploitation
Platform accountability
Expertise platforms have an important position to play in stopping and addressing sextortion. Our analysis discovered that 70% of victims used on-line security options like blocking and reporting, demonstrating that these instruments are important lifelines for younger folks in disaster. Nevertheless, extra have to be carried out:
- Platforms want higher detection programs to establish sextortion makes an attempt earlier than hurt happens
- Reporting processes have to be streamlined and accessible to younger customers in misery
- Security options must be prominently displayed and simple to make use of
- Cross-platform collaboration is required to trace and reply to perpetrators who transfer between providers and elevate quickly rising threats
Rising traits and ongoing analysis
The panorama of sextortion continues to evolve. Current headlines about networks like 764—which the FBI now considers a “tier one” terrorism menace—spotlight how these crimes have gotten extra organized and excessive, with some perpetrators particularly looking for to drive victims to self-harm. Early ecosystem intervention of this troubling type of sextortion can restrict its scale, stopping an analogous speedy development in prevalence that we noticed with monetary sextortion over the previous few years. And, as quickly as these threats evolve, the common significance of assist programs can’t be overstated. Analysis to know the most effective practices to ship accessible and efficient assist to children in peril is important.
The trail ahead
Regardless of the sobering findings of this analysis, there’s hope. Early intervention could make a big distinction in outcomes for younger victims. When younger folks obtain immediate assist from trusted adults and have entry to applicable assets, the cycle of abuse might be damaged.
By working collectively—throughout households, communities, expertise firms, and policymakers—we are able to create a digital world the place younger folks can discover, join, and specific themselves with out worry of exploitation. Our kids deserve nothing much less.
