Sexual Extortion & Young People: Navigating threats in digital environments

Since 2015, Thorn has researched the scale and impacts of sexual extortion, (or “sextortion”), tracking how this threat has evolved and affected young people’s lives. Recent years have shown increases in financial sextortion, at times with dire consequences. The landscape continues to expand, with new forms centered on victim domination and self-harm breaking into the headlines. Ongoing research remains essential to accurately assess the current nature of sexual extortion and develop more effective protective strategies.

To better explore and contextualize apparent shifts in the dynamics of sexual extortion involving youth, Thorn incorporated a dedicated series of questions into its Emerging Threats to Young People survey. The overall focus of that survey is to examine emergent online risk areas to better understand how current technologies create and/or exacerbate child safety vulnerabilities and to identify areas where solutions are needed. This report marks the third and final report within the series and sheds light on young people’s experiences with sexual extortion. Prior reports from the series address additional issues, including the emergence of deepfake nudes and the evolving nature of commodified sexual interactions involving minors. Drawing on responses from a survey of 1,200 young people aged 13-20, this report examines their lived experiences with sexual extortion as minors.