As Sri Lanka rapidly embraces digital transformation, a growing crisis looms beneath the surface of its online landscape: the sexual exploitation of children through digital platforms. The International Foundation for Digital Child (IFDC), through its flagship initiative—the Online Child Protection Advocates Program 2025—is urging swift, coordinated action to protect the country’s youngest internet users.
“Technology is growing, but our children are not always experiencing its benefits. Instead, many are facing not-so-pleasant realities online,” said Dr. M.C. Rasmin, founder of IFDC, academic, and researcher, speaking during a recent awareness session held under the program. Dr. Rasmin, who has worked extensively in schools and communities across Sri Lanka, has identified online sexual exploitation as one of the gravest and most under-reported threats to children in the digital era.
Workshops conducted under the IFDC program have highlighted how online sexual exploitation can take many forms, including the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, and cyberbullying. These offenses often begin on widely used platforms such as social media, messaging apps, and online gaming spaces—areas where children are especially vulnerable and frequently unsupervised.
According to data presented by IFDC during the sessions, 70% of children who encountered CSAM were exposed to it before the age of 18, and 50% of these exposures were accidental. Alarmingly, only 28% of affected children felt comfortable reporting such incidents. “Exploitation is not only physical—it can also be financial, where perpetrators monetize children’s vulnerability,” Dr. Rasmin explained.
Online gaming platforms and chatrooms have emerged as common venues for initial contact, with cyberbullying and grooming often disguised as friendly interactions. A 2021 study by Fernando revealed that 27% of Sri Lankan children had experienced some form of cyberbullying or digital extortion. IFDC’s findings echoed these trends, with Dr. Rasmin noting that “the prevalence may seem low, but the impact is disturbingly high.”
Cyberbullying cases discussed during IFDC workshops ranged from body shaming and rumor-spreading to more serious offenses such as sexual harassment and threats. Dr. Rasmin emphasized that many of these abuses occur through messaging apps like WhatsApp and IMO. “Children are using these platforms without guidance. What starts as fun quickly escalates into something dangerous,” he warned.
The psychological toll of these experiences can be long-lasting. IFDC’s school-based interventions have documented cases of children suffering from depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, and, in some instances, self-harm or suicidal thoughts. One particularly troubling trend is the rise in online grooming, where perpetrators develop trust-based relationships with children before exploiting them.
“Grooming online is much more calculated than offline,” said Dr. Rasmin. “Predators, often adult males, intentionally observe and engage with children, pretending to be mentors or friends. Over time, they pressure the child into sharing explicit content or even meeting in person.”
Sexting, frequently driven by peer pressure or manipulation by online predators, has also emerged as a growing issue. Through its outreach in 25 schools, IFDC found that girls as young as 13 had been affected—many of whom were unaware of the legal and emotional consequences. “Children trust these abusers because they feel loved—something they may not get from their families,” Dr. Rasmin said. “That trust is then used against them.”
Dr. Rasmin also drew attention to the growing prevalence of CSAM, stressing that the digital footprint of such content is irreversible. “Once online, these materials cannot be erased. They continue to haunt survivors long after the original incident,” he said. While CSAM is a global crisis, it remains deeply under-reported in Sri Lanka.
International data supports the urgency. In 2021, the Internet Watch Foundation recorded 182,000 self-generated CSAM files. Of those, 82% of victims were under the age of 13, and 97% were girls. EUROPOL currently maintains a repository of more than 46 million unique CSAM files.
Another form of abuse increasingly reported by IFDC participants is sextortion—a coercive tactic where predators threaten to release sensitive images unless victims comply with further demands. “They might say ‘send more pictures or I’ll show this to your school or parents.’ Or they pretend the child has committed a crime. It’s psychological warfare,” said Dr. Rasmin.
The emotional damage left in the wake of such abuse is severe and, for many, lifelong. Victims often experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), self-blame, broken relationships, and enduring stigma—especially in communities where victim-blaming is still pervasive.
To combat these threats, IFDC advocates a layered, age-appropriate prevention strategy. For younger children, this includes early education on body safety, trust, and privacy. For adolescents, discussions around consent, peer pressure, pornography, sexting, and healthy relationships are critical. At the family level, IFDC encourages parents to foster open communication rather than respond with punishment or judgment.
“Parents should be supportive listeners,” Dr. Rasmin said. “Instead of reacting with anger, they must create an environment where children feel safe to speak up. While parental controls can help, they are no substitute for digital literacy and emotional connection.”
In his closing remarks at a recent IFDC webinar, Dr. Rasmin called for urgent, multi-sectoral engagement. “We cannot wait until something bad happens. We must teach children how to be safe, how to say no, and how to seek help. Prevention must come before protection.”
As Sri Lanka continues its digital evolution, IFDC remains committed to ensuring that every child can navigate the online world safely and with confidence.
By Ahalya David