The United Nations is increasing its demands for tangible action to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, emphasizing a shift from token commitments to comprehensive protection measures. In a recent report, Ai Kihara-Hunt, the UN Special Rapporteur focusing on these issues, called for states to enhance prevention strategies, which she argues are the most effective routes to combating the systemic abuse of vulnerable children.
Kihara-Hunt, presenting her findings to the UN General Assembly, stressed that current challenges lie in translating international standards into operational, child-centered, rights-based systems. These systems should be designed around the realities children face daily. She underscored several pressing threats that make a robust, holistic protective framework essential, spanning prevention, response, rehabilitation, justice, and reintegration.
Addressing the need for deeper investment in preventive measures, Kihara-Hunt suggested examining the roots of exploitation, which often lie in poverty and discrimination. Her recommendations extended beyond governments to include technology companies, health professionals, and educational institutions, all of which bear a shared responsibility in safeguarding children’s rights (JURIST).
The report also highlighted evolving technological risks, notably the rise of sexual deepfakes involving children. This concern was echoed by UNICEF, which reported that in early 2026 over 1.2 million children had fallen victim to their images being altered into explicit deepfakes. This situation is alarmingly widespread, with some regions witnessing incidents among 1 in 25 children, akin to one affected child in every classroom.
Human Rights Watch has critiqued existing legal structures for their lack of mechanisms to hold states accountable in failing to protect children. They stress the importance of implementing trauma-informed justice processes to avoid re-traumatizing young victims, a sentiment echoed by Kihara-Hunt, who advocates for judicial reforms tailored to minors’ unique needs.
Save the Children argues that effective prevention requires legally enforced budget allocations and community protection frameworks instead of vague policy pledges. Meanwhile, ECPAT International points out the deficiencies in reparation mechanisms, urging states to ensconce civil remedies and state-funded compensation in law as entitlements rather than charitable interventions.
Despite the wide ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adherence remains sporadic. Catherine Russell, a senior UN official, has remarked on the continuing compliance gap, indicating that children’s rights are more at risk now than in the 34 years since the Convention’s adoption. This compliance gap hinders children’s access to justice, noted in the General Comment No.25 (2021) regarding children’s digital rights.