'Hidden pandemic': New report exposes child sexual abuse numbers in Europe

One successful 15 children successful Europe has been a unfortunate of rape oregon intersexual assault, according to a Childlight study on 33 European countries.

Some 4.7% study experiencing rape earlier the property of 18, and 7.4% being sexually assaulted.

The incidence seems to beryllium importantly higher among girls (9.7%) than among boys (3.9%).

Violence often occurs wrong the family: 7.6% experienced intersexual battle by a household subordinate during their beingness earlier turning 18.

In 2023, kid helpines reported implicit 33,000 (33,261) calls related to kid intersexual exploitation and abuse.

The study refers to kid helpline tags, which picture however kid helpline unit papers and categorise immoderate interaction (such arsenic calls, texts oregon different forms of communication) successful their information systems.

The Netherlands has the highest fig of intersexual unit tags among the surveyed countries, with 5,819 tags, portion the United Kingdom ranked arsenic the superior determination for "technology-facilitated kid intersexual exploitation and abuse".

Ireland emerged arsenic the state with the highest fig of offline commercialized intersexual exploitation (offline) tags: 227.

However, the improvement is besides becoming progressively important online

Amid an astonishing planetary emergence successful AI-generated abuse, rising by 1,325% betwixt 2023 and 2024, astir 1 successful 5 European children was exposed to unwanted intersexual contented successful the past year.

Also, 1 successful 7 children reported unwanted oregon pressured online intersexual interactions implicit the aforesaid period.

In Europe, Netherlands-hosted web platforms accounted for a staggering 60% of reports against child-sexual-abuse material.

The state besides has the highest complaint of reports per 10,000 radical (880.9 reports/notices per 10,000 people), followed by Slovakia (193.7) and Lithuania (190.0).

"We inquire that countries uphold the champion interests of the kid and found authorities that gives powerfulness to a governing assemblage to acceptable child-centric, gender-sensitive and inclusive standards for the information of children successful online spaces, arsenic good arsenic consequences if these standards are not met," the study says.

Why is the Netherlands a large online kid pornography host?

The figures for the Netherlands are truthful damning owed to respective factors, Childlight says, namely "the country’s relation arsenic a planetary hub for information centres and net speech points, the standard and openness of its hosting market, and imaginable differences successful hosting concern models oregon takedown procedures".

In 2024, the country's legislature approved a new law requiring hosting companies to region online kid intersexual maltreatment worldly from servers, the Eradication of Online Child Pornographic Material Act.

Failing to region specified contented whitethorn pb to a good amounting to up to "10% of the company's turnover successful the lawsuit of repeated violations".

The caller legislative efforts volition beryllium bolstered by the caller Dutch introduction into the Global Online Safety Regulatory Network, a radical of countries including, among others, the UK, France, South Korea and Australia, to summation collaboration betwixt online information regulators.

Furthermore, successful 2025, Dutch constabulary took portion successful 2 monolithic operations against online kid intersexual abuse. The archetypal 1 was against AI-generated intersexual content, portion the pursuing took down Kidflix, a paedophile level with astir 2 cardinal users.

The operation, which led to 79 arrests and the recognition of astir 1,400 suspects, was defined by Europol arsenic its largest cognition ever against kid intersexual exploitation.

Will the EU summation scrutiny connected backstage chats to tackle abuse?

EU legislators person been trying since 2022 to tighten the screws connected kid intersexual maltreatment with proposals to summation online surveillance.

In particular, 1 of the points of the alleged Chat Control bill would beryllium to compel instant messaging apps, specified arsenic WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, to scan encrypted conversations successful hunt of images, videos and URLs that mightiness incorporate kid maltreatment content.

However, successful 1 of the latest rounds of negotiations, past month, subordinate states failed to scope an agreement, citing privateness and "mass surveillance" concerns.

Germany's "no" was decisive, with the country's justness curate Stefanie Hubig saying that chat power "must beryllium a taboo successful a authorities governed by the regularisation of law".

The Netherlands opposed the bill, too, portion Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Hungary and Ireland backmost the existent plans.

How does Europe comparison to southbound Asia?

The Childlight study besides looks astatine southbound Asia, wherever an estimated 12.5% of children reported experiencing rape oregon intersexual assault.

Like successful Europe, the proportionality is higher among girls — 14.5% — compared to boys (11.5%).

Within the region, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan relationship for 4.5 cardinal reports of kid intersexual maltreatment content.

The largest complaint per 10,000 people, however, was recovered successful the Maldives (94), followed by Bangladesh with 64 and Bhutan with 41.