In the first global assessment of arise in sexual harassment of minors onlineresearchers at the University of Edinburgh found that 302 million young, 12.6% of children in the world have fallen victims to unsolicited sexual online discussion that may include questions and requests for a sexual act from adults or other young people, as well as non-consensual use and exposure of sexual images and videos.

Offenses can also take the form of “extortion” for money from victims and abuse of artificial intelligence technology.

Research has shown that the United States is a particularly high-risk area. The university’s Childlight initiative includes a new global index, which found that one in nine Americans (equivalent to nearly 14 million) admitted to violating children’s rights online at some point.

Research found that 7% of Britons, equivalent to 1.8 million, admitted the same.

The survey also found that many men admitted they would try to commit sex offenses against children if they believed the acts would remain secret.

Childlight chief executive Paul Stanfield said: “This is on such a staggering scale that in the UK alone offenders would fill Wembley Stadium 20 times over.”

“One complaint every second”

“Child abuse material is so widespread that one report is made every second.

“This is a global pandemic that has been hidden for far too long. It occurs in every country, grows exponentially and requires a global response. We need to act urgently and treat this as a public health issue,” according to Interpol director Stephen Kavanagh.

“We need to do a lot more together globally, including training specialist researchers, better sharing data and equipment to effectively fight this pandemic,” he said.

Child sexual abuse survivor Grace Tame, who founded the Grace Tame Foundation, said a central global research database was essential to protect children.