Online and Offline Sexual Exploitation, Sextortion, and Technology-Facilitated Violence

Technology-facilitated violence refers to harmful behaviours carried out through digital platforms, devices, or online spaces.

This can include:

• Harassment or threats

• Sexual exploitation or coercion

• Sharing intimate images without consent

• Sextortion

• Monitoring or controlling behaviour online

• Manipulation and radicalization through gaming, messaging apps, or social media

These harms can happen both online and offline and can deeply affect a young person’s emotional safety, relationships, confidence, and well-being.

Sexual exploitation is a broad term used to describe situations where someone uses power, manipulation, pressure, coercion, or deception for sexual purposes or gain.

It often involves taking advantage of a person’s age, vulnerability, emotional needs, financial situation, trust, or desire for connection.

Sexual exploitation can happen both online and offline and may include:

• Sex trafficking

• Sextortion

• Sharing intimate images without consent

• Grooming or manipulation online

• Coercion into sexual activity

• Exploitation through social media, gaming, or messaging platforms

• Technology-facilitated violence or abuse

In many cases, exploitation does not begin with obvious force or violence. It can start through attention, affection, gifts, emotional connection, promises, manipulation, or pressure over time.

Young people are never responsible for being exploited. Responsibility always lies with the person causing harm or taking advantage of vulnerability.

Sexual exploitation can have serious and lasting impacts on a young person’s emotional well-being, relationships, safety, confidence, and mental health.

Young people who experience exploitation may feel:

• Shame or self-blame

• Fear, anxiety, or isolation

• Loss of trust or safety

• Pressure, confusion, or emotional distress

• Difficulty asking for help

• Suicide and suicide ideation

Sexual exploitation can affect school, friendships, family relationships, and a young person’s sense of identity or self-worth.

It is also important to recognize that girls and young women are disproportionately impacted by many forms of sexual violence and exploitation, including sexual harassment, trafficking, coercion, and image-based abuse.

2SLGBTQ+ youth can also face increased vulnerability to exploitation, harassment, and online targeting due to discrimination, isolation, identity-based stigma, or attempts to seek connection and community online.

At the same time, some forms of exploitation—particularly financially motivated sextortion—have increasingly targeted boys and young men. In many cases, boys are manipulated into sharing intimate images and then threatened, blackmailed, or extorted for money.

Certain communities may face increased vulnerability to sexual exploitation due to systemic inequities, discrimination, or social and economic marginalization, including Indigenous women, girls, and youth, racialized communities, migrants and newcomers, 2SLGBTQ+ youth, youth experiencing homelessness, and young people involved in child welfare or youth justice systems.

While many forms of sexual exploitation disproportionately impact women and girls, financially motivated sextortion has increasingly targeted boys and young men online.

In many cases, boys are contacted through social media, gaming platforms, messaging apps, or fake accounts posing as peers or potential romantic interests. After trust or flirtation is established, young people may be pressured or manipulated into sharing intimate images. The person then threatens to share the images publicly unless money, additional content, or other demands are met.

These situations often move very quickly and are designed to create fear, panic, shame, and urgency.

Because boys are often taught to hide vulnerability, avoid embarrassment, or “handle things on their own,” many do not seek help right away. This can increase feelings of isolation and emotional distress.

It is important for boys to know:

• They are never to blame for being manipulated or exploited

• Help is available

• Asking for support is a sign of strength, not weakness

Conversations about sexual exploitation should not only focus on risk—they should also help boys understand the important role they can play in building safer, more respectful communities online and offline.

Boys can help prevent harm by:

• Respecting consent and boundaries online and offline

• Never sharing intimate images without permission

• Challenging misogyny, harassment, or degrading behaviour among peers

• Thinking critically about content that normalizes exploitation, control, or disrespect

• Supporting friends who may be experiencing harm or pressure

Helping boys build empathy, emotional awareness, accountability, and healthy relationship skills is an important part of preventing exploitation and violence in all its forms.

Parents do not need to have perfect answers or become technology experts to support their children.

What matters most is building trust, staying connected, and creating space for ongoing conversations about relationships, boundaries, consent, and online experiences.

Try to:

• Stay calm and avoid shame-based reactions

• Talk openly about online relationships and digital safety

• Reinforce that young people can always come for help

• Encourage critical thinking about pressure, manipulation, and consent

• Model healthy communication, empathy, and respect

It is also important to remember that many young people may fear punishment, embarrassment, or judgment if they disclose harmful experiences online. Supportive, non-judgmental responses can make a significant difference.

These conversations do not need to happen all at once. Small, consistent moments of connection can help young people feel safer, more supported, and more likely to seek help when something feels wrong.