The Statistics

A nationally representative study published in 2025 estimates that 34.4% of Canadians experienced some form of child abuse by age 18—up from 32.1% in 2012. Among young adults aged 18–27, the rate rose from 21.7% to 26.8% between 2012 and 2022

In 2022, the rate of police‑reported online child sexual exploitation (including offences like luring, distributing sexual images, and child sexual abuse material) reached 160 incidents per 100,000 children and youth, compared to just 50 per 100,000 in 2014
Excluding offline luring offences, child sexual abuse material alone accounted for 125 incidents per 100,000 children in 2022—a nearly fourfold increase since 2014
From 2014 to 2022, police recorded 15,630 incidents of online sexual offences against children and 45,816 incidents involving child sexual abuse material

84% of victims of online sexual offences were aged 12–17, and 84% of those victims were girls Statistics Canada Statistics Canada.
In non‑consensual intimate image distribution (~1,700 incidents from 2015–2022), 97% of victims were youth aged 12–17, with 86% being girls. Accused were often peers with median ages close to victims (14–15) Wikipedia+5Statistics Canada+5Statistics Canada+5.
Most accused were male (boys and men)—in password offences like child pornography, 90% of accused were mal

Only 41% of online sexual offence incidents were cleared by police; among those cleared, 74% resulted in charges
Of charges processed in adult court, only 34% led to a guilty verdict, while in youth court, 44% resulted in convictions. In adult convictions, 78% received prison, youth convictions often led to probation (62%)

Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national child sexual exploitation tip line, processed 4.3 million reports between 2014 and 2020.
Reports of sextortion and other online exploitation to Cybertip.ca climbed 88% during the pandemic, with luring up 815% over five years
In 2023, Cybertip.ca processed 27,429 public reports, a 45% increase over 2022. Ontario alone received 6,710 and BC 2,003 of those reports
Of all reports processed by Cybertip.ca, 95.9% involved child sexual abuse materials; other categories such as luring, prostitution, trafficking made up small percentages (<2%)

From 2009–2018:

Nearly 30% of human trafficking victims were under age 18.
97% of victims were women or girls; 93% were Canadian citizens, not foreign national
The most vulnerable groups include Indigenous youth, youth in care, LGBTQ2+ individuals, runaways, refugees, and people with disabilities
Around 81% of accused traffickers were men