Extreme online violence primarily targeting girls on social media is trending upward, alarming new data from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) shows.
Since 2022, there has been a 1300 per cent rise in violent cyber attacks in Winnipeg.
From June 2022 through the end of December 2025, Cybertip.ca and NeedHelpNow.ca, both operated by C3P, received 127 reports of extreme online violence. The majority of the cases were reported in the last 12 months.
The reports contained information about 75 child victims, with girls accounting for 84 per cent of victims where gender was known.
Most of the victims were teenagers, with the youngest being just 11 years old.
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According to C3P, this type of gender-based violence generally includes aggressive coercive tactics, such as threats to distribute intimate images, blackmail and doxing in an attempt to force victims to engage in dangerous behaviours.
These behaviours include self-harm, disordered eating, sexual or degrading acts against themselves or others, and even acts of violence such as harming pets.
As reflected in public advisories issued by the RCMP about violent online groups targeting youth, C3P records indicate that offenders favoured the communication platform Discord.
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This platform was cited in 80 reports related to extreme online sexual violence since 2022, making it the most cited platform based on C3P records.
“This new and horrific type of abuse we see unfolding is heartbreaking, and should concern all Canadians,” said Lianna McDonald, executive director of C3P.
“These emerging forms of violence impacting girls and young women online are sadly deeply entrenched in our digital environments.”
Data from June 2022 through the end of 2025 shows that there were five reports of online violence in 2022, which gradually jumped to 70 in 2025.
“The gaps offenders exploit are so often known, and these online services have the ability to do so much more,” MacDonald said.
C3P has long advocated for the creation of online safety regulations in Canada to ensure children can experience digital environments that do not facilitate or cause harm to them.
“What we have said, and will continue to say, is that online services, especially those used by children, have a responsibility to take significant steps to ensure their platforms aren’t weaponized against their users,” McDonald added.
In response to these reports, C3P has provided direct support to nearly 60 children and parents, forwarded more than 110 reports to law enforcement and issued nearly 40 notices to online platforms.
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