How common are experiences of seeing online hate among children in Australia?
eSafety surveyed 2,302 Australian children aged 10 to 17 years1 to determine the prevalence of online experiences and harms, including seeing online hate.2
Key findings
Over half of children have seen online hate at some point
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Trans and gender-diverse children are more likely to have seen online hate
88%
of trans and gender-diverse children had at some point seen online hate.
(75% had seen online hate in the past 12 months.5)
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A similar proportion of girls and boys have seen online hate
Around 3 in 5
girls (60%) and boys (58%) had seen online hate at some point.
(48% of girls and 46% of boys had seen online hate in the past 12 months.)
Exposure to online hate increases with age6
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Children see diverse forms of online hate
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39%
had seen online hate against people with a specific skin colour, race or culture at some point.
(28% in the past 12 months.)
38%
had seen online hate against people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or any other sexuality that isn’t straight or heterosexual.
(28% in the past 12 months.)
38%
had seen online hate against people who are transgender, non-binary or gender diverse.
(28% in the past 12 months.)
|
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37%
had seen online hate against people from a specific country.
(26% in the past 12 months.)
36%
had seen online hate against people with specific religious beliefs.
(26% in the past 12 months.)
35%
had seen online hate against women or girls.
(24% in the past 12 months.)
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30%
had seen online hate against people with a disability or diagnosis.
(21% in the past 12 months.)
25%
had seen online hate against Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
(16% in the past 12 months.)
24%
had seen online hate against men or boys.
(16% in the past 12 months.)
Notes
1Part of a nationally representative survey of 3,454 children aged 10 to 17 years living in Australia between December 2024 and February 2025.
2 For more information about the methodology of the research, see the methodology report.
3 Source: R.1 Have you ever seen anyone say or post offensive or threatening things online, to or about people, because they were hateful of …? Important: Don’t include things you have seen in TV shows or movies, like on Netflix or Disney+. You can include things that were said or posted as ‘just a joke’.
4 Prevalence of experiences of seeing online hate was assessed in a recontact survey (n=2,302).
5 The smaller sample size for trans and gender-diverse children should be considered when interpreting these findings (n=58).
6 Arrows denote statistically significant differences between sub-groups. The proportion of children aged 13 to 15 and 16 to 17 who had seen online hate in the past 12 months didn’t differ significantly.
Helpful resources
eSafety’s Parents section has information for parents and carers, including information and advice about helping children stay safe online.
eSafety’s Kids and Young People sections provide useful information to help children and teens stay safe online.
Last updated: 23/07/2025