A/HRC/31/20 and to ICTs. Although it is difficult to assess the exact proportion of Internet users who are children, a recent estimate suggests that one third of users worldwide are below 18 years of age.6 Children are going online at a younger age and in greater numbers, and the average age of first-time Internet use is declining. 63. Cyberbullying may include spreading rumours, posting false information or hurtful messages, embarrassing comments or photos, or excluding someone from online networks or other communications. Often resulting from face-to-face interaction in the school or other social spaces, it can cause particularly profound harm, as it can affect the child victim at any time and quickly reach a very wide audience. 64. Cyberbullying is one of children’s greatest concerns when navigating the online world. Research in Europe indicates that receiving hurtful messages is the least common risk for children online but is the most likely to upset them; the majority of children affected by such messages called on social support and 6 per cent used strategies to delete or block those messages.7 65. Although there are still data gaps in different regions, it is clear that cyberbullying is weighing on children’s minds and prompting them to seek support. Data collected by Child Helpline International confirm that around the world cyberbullying is a frequent reason for children to call a helpline: in 2014 there were 27, 847 contacts relating to cyberbullying made to helplines. 66. Cyberbullying is a serious manifestation of online violence and can be associated with different forms of sexual abuse. Cyberbullying may in fact include the posting and dissemination of images and pictures of a sexual nature, such as self-generated sexually explicit material; creating, sharing or forwarding messages or images of a sexual nature (sexting); or promoting online intimidation and harassment (cyberstalking), including with a view to obtaining sexual favours from the victim or coercing the victim into performing sexual acts (sextortion). Sexting 67. A study published by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children 8 shows that in the United Kingdom, between 15 and 40 per cent of young people are involved in sexting. This includes children younger than 12 years of age, who are often worried, confused and upset by the sexting pressures they face from their peers. The primary technology-related threat is not from strangers but rather from their peers and their social network “friends”. Teenagers are aware of how to reduce online risks from strangers, but awareness-raising needs to shift towards reducing the risks from their peers. The role of schools in holding discussions of the sexual pressures that students face and in promoting the support and training of teachers to facilitate these discussions is important. 68. The vast majority of young people who generate or receive sexts would not tell an adult about it; parents and teachers are considered the last resort for seeking help.9 While most sexting images are self-generated and distributed on a mobile device, the images 6 7 8 9 Sonia Livingstone, John Carr and Jasmina Byrne, One in Three: Internet Governance and Children’s Rights, Global Commission on Internet Governance, Paper Series No. 22, November 2015, p. 7. See http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/page/1154, p. 32. Jessica Ringrose and others, A Qualitative Study of Children, Young People and “Sexting” (London, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2012). Andy Phippen, “Sexting: an exploration of practices, attitudes and influences”, UK Safer Internet Centre and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, December 2012, p. 14. 13