This part focuses on how major social media and communication platforms manage abuse reporting and how these channels may be exploited by perpetrators targeting women, girls, and children.
Here’s a data‑driven facts of online abuse, cyberbullying and cyberstalking on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on women and children, with insights from multiple recent reports, surveys and policing data.
Child exploitation and abuse
In England and Wales, law enforcement data shows Snapchat accounted for the highest share of child sexual exploitation/abuse offences recorded in 2024, out of major social platforms. Snapchat cases were far above WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook.
UK police reporting indicates that almost half of online grooming cases where the platform was known occurred on Snapchat (48%). Girls made up 81% of known victims of these offences in 2023/24.
Sexual imagery and harassment
Research on online misogyny and image‑based abuse finds that Snapchat is the most common place teens receive unwanted nude images (about 58% of teenagers who receive them say it happened on Snapchat), with girls disproportionately affected.
Cyberbullying prevalence
Platform‑by‑platform cyberbullying estimates show Snapchat third overall, trailing Instagram and Facebook but still significant: about 31–33% of social media users report bullying behaviours on Snapchat.
Takeaway: Snapchat’s default private, ephemeral messaging and heavy use among youth create opportunities for grooming, explicit content exchange and harassment that show up in official crime figures and abuse surveys.
Online harassment against women
A global study reported that nearly 60% of girls and young women aged 15‑25 had been harassed or abused online on platforms including Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook specifically, about 39% experienced harassment. Instagram, WhatsApp and Snapchat also featured, though at lower reported rates.
Cyberbullying
Surveys show Instagram and Facebook are top platforms where cyberbullying occurs:
Instagram: roughly 29.8% of incidents
Facebook: 26.2%
WhatsApp: 8.5% (bullying via private groups/messages)
Content moderation actions
Statista data on content removals shows major takedown activity across Meta platforms:
Facebook actioned 7.8 million bullying/harassment cases in one quarter
Instagram actioned over 10 million pieces of harmful content
Snapchat reported over 6.6 million harassment/abuse violations in the first half of 2023.
Grooming and sexually exploitative contact
In the UK, WhatsApp accounted for 12% of online grooming cases where the communication channel was known, with Facebook and Messenger at 10% and Instagram at 6% (Snapchat was by far the largest).
Takeaway: Meta platforms show high volumes of both abusive content and formal police/civil reports. Facebook still appears as a major location where women and girls report abuse, while Instagram and WhatsApp feature more in harassment and messaging‑based offences.
Prevalence of online abuse
Studies find more than half of young women and girls have experienced online abuse or harassment, including explicit messages, image‑based abuse, stalking, or threats linked to real‑world safety concerns.
A different global poll (Plan International) showed 20% of abused girls felt unsafe or fearful for their physical safety because of online threats.
Cyberstalking and harassment
Independent research shows women are often disproportionately targeted by online harassment such as misogyny, stalking, doxxing and threatening language. In some national surveys, women report they are less comfortable expressing opinions online due to fear of being targeted.
Gendered targeting patterns
Gender‑based harassment frequently shows up on platforms with public comment features, like Facebook and Instagram, but messaging apps (WhatsApp/Snapchat) are also used for unsolicited sexual contacts or leverage.
Takeaway: Online abuse against women often combines multiple forms of harassment, including bullying, stalking and image‑based abuse. Meta’s global footprint means these behaviours show up prominently on Facebook and Instagram.
Exposure to grooming and exploitation
Official policing data shows a sharp rise in recorded grooming offences over recent years. In the UK, sexual communication with a child offences rose by about 89% since they were first tracked, with Snapchat nearly half of cases where the communication method was known.
Younger teens are overwhelmingly girls in many grooming cases, and incidents range down to primary school ages.
Cyberbullying risk
Children’s risk of cyberbullying on social platforms is high:
Snapchat: ~69% of teens reported cyberbullying in one U.S. report
Facebook: ~49%
Instagram: no exact figure from that specific source, but social media prevalence is high in related surveys.
Sextortion and serious harms
Law enforcement and advocacy reports show a sharp increase in online sextortion incidents, with many cases tied to interactions on Snapchat and Facebook/Instagram. NCMEC data pointed to hundreds of thousands of reports globally in one half‑year period, and Snapchat contributed the largest share of flagged concerning material.
Disengagement and psychological impact
Survey evidence suggests many girls reduce platform use or alter behaviour after abuse — with 1 in 5 quitting or significantly reducing use of a social network after harassment.
Takeaway: For children, cyberbullying and exploitation are pervasive risks. Snapchat features very prominently in both official crime figures and cyberbullying/cyberflashing reports. Teens report high rates of hurtful behaviour on social apps overall.
Cyberbullying: Hurtful messages, insults, rumour spreading, deliberate exclusion and public shaming.
Cyberstalking: Repeated unwanted contact or monitoring of profiles/messages.
Image‑based abuse/Cyberflashing: Unwanted nude or explicit content, especially on Snapchat.
Sextortion: Blackmail using explicit imagery or threats.
Grooming: Building trust to exploit or abuse minors online.
Relative risk by platform
Snapchat: Strong signal for grooming, image‑based abuse, and youth cyberbullying.
Instagram: High incident share for bullying and harassment.
Facebook: Continues to rank high for abuse and harassment against both teens and adult women.
WhatsApp: Lower overall bullying stats but meaningful share of grooming/sexual messaging cases.
Gender and age effects
Girls are disproportionately targeted in grooming and sexual solicitations.
Women and female teens report higher rates of abuse, harassment and fear for safety compared with males in many studies.
Underreporting and impact
Both women and children often don’t report harmful experiences due to stigma, fear, or belief reporting won’t help, so actual prevalence is likely higher than recorded statistics suggest.
References:
https://news.sky.com/story/worst-social-media-app-for-child-abuse-offences-revealed-13481857
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/news-opinion/2024/online-grooming-crimes-increase/
https://www.internetmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Internet-Matters-Online-misogyny-and-image-based-abuse-report-Sep-2023-2.pdf
https://sqmagazine.co.uk/cyberbullying-statistics
https://plan-international.org/news/2020/10/05/abuse-and-harassment-driving-girls-off-facebook-instagram-and-twitter/
https://sqmagazine.co.uk/cyberbullying-statistics/
https://www.statista.com/topics/1809/cyber-bullying/
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/news-opinion/2024/online-grooming-crimes-increase/
https://www.jkpi.org/the-rise-of-cyber-violence-against-women-and-its-implications/
https://www.dw.com/en/abuse-and-harassment-drive-girls-off-facebook-instagram-twitter/a-55156541
https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.19037
https://xtendedview.com/cyberbullying-statistics/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/aug/09/fbi-nspcc-alarmed-shocking-rise-online-sextortion-children