Ulster University has published a new safeguarding report that deepens understanding of why children and young people rarely disclose online sexual abuse and highlights the urgent need to hold online platforms to account.
Commissioned by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI) under the NI Executive’s Online Safety Strategy, the report focuses on Technology Assisted Child Sexual Abuse (TACSA) and the barriers preventing children from reporting abuse experienced online.
Launched on Safer Internet Day (10 February 2026), the research draws on extensive desk-based analysis and a systematic review of international evidence examining the factors that place children at greater risk and the reasons disclosure rates remain persistently low.
The report finds that while educating children about online risks is important, awareness-raising alone has not significantly reduced vulnerability. Instead, risk is driven by deeper factors including loneliness, low self-esteem, identity exploration, difficult family situations, isolation and prior experiences of abuse or neglect. Children affected by TACSA are often already known to child protection services, yet disclosure remains rare.
Researchers found that children are frequently targeted by determined offenders using fictitious online profiles across social media, gaming and chat platforms, where age verification is weak or ineffective. End-to-end encryption and limited platform accountability allow grooming behaviours to take place with minimal risk of detection.
Children and young people are also reluctant to disclose abuse due to shame, fear of images being shared, or a lack of understanding that what they have experienced constitutes abuse. Where disclosure does occur, it is more likely to be to peers rather than trusted adults.
The report’s primary recommendation is for online platforms to be held accountable for the digital environments they create. It calls for the full implementation, regulation and enforcement of the Online Safety Act 2023 as a vital step in reducing children’s exposure to harm.
Dr Tony McGinn, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Ulster University and lead author of the report, said:
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, said:
“The findings presented in this report offer a significant contribution to our understanding of online harm and strengthen the evidence base underpinning Northern Ireland’s Online Safety Strategy.
It is evident from this research that responsibility for online safety cannot solely rest on children and young people, their parents and carers, or educators. Online platforms must be held to account for the environments they create and for the harms that occur on their services.
The evidence reinforces the importance of continued engagement with industry and of supporting stronger regulatory and oversight mechanisms at UK level. This work is essential to ensuring that all children and young people are better protected from online harm and that industry standards continue to evolve in line with emerging risks and expectations.”
Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, Bernie McNally, said:
“This research shows the reality that children are being harmed in online spaces that remain dangerously easy for abusers to exploit. They are being targeted through fake profiles, weak age checks and encrypted channels that hide grooming from view. Some young people are especially at risk because their vulnerabilities are deliberately exploited. Shame and fear often prevent them from reporting abuse, so it is vital that adults respond calmly, without judgement, and make sure they feel believed and supported.
The priority is prevention. No child should ever have to manage risks created by unsafe systems. Online platforms must be held to account and required to close the loopholes abusers exploit. Children deserve online environments designed for their safety, not ones that expose them to danger.”