From Exposure to Exploitation: Understanding How Child Pornography Exposure Influences Early Sexual Behaviour and Pathways Into Transactional Sexual Exploitation and Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Sub‐Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT This review examines the continuum linking child pornography exposure (CPE), early sexual behaviour and transactional sexual exploitation (informal exploitation) and commercial sexual exploitation (formal exploitation) of children among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). In this context, CPE refers to children's exposure to pornographic material featuring adults and/or children, whether accidental or deliberate, including content increasingly defined as child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Guided by Bandura's social learning theory (SLT), Galtung's structural violence theory (SVT) and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (EST), the review explores how cognitive learning, structural inequalities and environmental contexts heighten vulnerability. CPE is increasingly common due to smartphone access, social media proliferation and limited protective factors, such as digital literacy and effective supervision. Early exposure distorts perceptions of sexuality, undermines respect for consent and fosters premature sexual initiation. In contexts of poverty and gender inequality, these behaviours are reinforced by socio‐economic deprivation and weak child protection systems, increasing vulnerability to transactional sexual exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation. The review underscores that CPE and commercial sexual exploitation are interconnected manifestations within a broader continuum of child sexual abuse.