A recent international report has documented appalling levels of child abuse and sexual exploitation in South Asia, and Nepal is one of the countries most vulnerable to this. It is estimated that nearly one in eight children in South Asia has been sexually assaulted or raped before the age of 18, as reported by the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute. The institute estimated that in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India, 12.5 percent of children, a total of 54m, have been sexually victimized, including 14.5 percent of girls and 11.5 percent of boys.

The study, Into The Light and published on Tuesday, was conducted by Childlight, a global child safety institute based at the University of Edinburgh and the University of New South Wales. It warns that behind the closed doors of their homes, a “human tragedy” is unfolding across the region, with millions of children subjected to both physical and online sex abuse.

In addition to sexual exploitation, the report highlights a staggering rise in cyber child exploitation, including a 1,325 percent rise in poisonous AI-created content during the past year, such as “deepfake” images that overlay children’s faces on pornographic images. The research is being demonstrated this week in New Delhi and Kerala, where Childlight is collaborating with Indian police at the region’s largest cybersecurity conference, c0c0n, to enhance digital defenses and locate abusers.

India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan lead the country in the most child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to data reported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and INHOPE. NCMEC reported more than 2.2m cases in India, 1.1m in Bangladesh, and 1m in Pakistan in 2024 alone. Adjusted for population, the Maldives had the highest in the region’s CSAM rate at 94 cases per 10,000 people, followed by Bangladesh (64.1), Pakistan (41.3), Bhutan (41), Afghanistan (28.9), Sri Lanka (27.8), Nepal (19.4), and India (15.5).

Childlight CEO Paul Stanfield, a previous director of INTERPOL, called the results a worldwide emergency. “Abuse is nearer than folks imagine. Millions of children’s lives are being ruined by physical and sexual abuse online. It is preventable, and all of us can and must intervene to stop it,” he stated.

In Nepal, Anil Raghuvanshi of ChildSafeNet called on governments and tech business leaders to take action. “Children become increasingly exposed to abuse and exploitation on the internet. Governments and technology companies should take action at once with effective protections and sufficient resources. Not safeguarding children is not fulfilling their duties,” he said.

South Asian survivors also provided the same message. Saanika Kodial (14) of Mumbai, who survived online sexual abuse, is now campaigning with the Brave Movement. “Survivors are made to feel guilty and ashamed. Speaking their words does not make them the villain. There will always exist individuals who trust and believe them,” she said.

Childlight is urging governments to enact stronger legislation, faster removal of abuse content and education schemes that equip children and professionals with Internet safety skills. It also praised India for its blanket publication of child sexual exploitation data, which enables it to track trends and construct response mechanisms.

Official data show that police-reported incidents of child sexual exploitation in India rose from 54,359 in 2021 to 64,469 in 2022, while in Pakistan the number roughly doubled from 1,546 to 2,954.

Stanfield outlined that even though the figures are deeply troubling, availability of data can lead to solutions. “The transparency of the data allows governments and law enforcement to target interventions and spur reporting,” he added.

Survivor campaigner Rhiannon-Faye McDonald, groomed online and raped at 13, criticized technology companies for caring little about user safety. “Technology companies have long prioritized profit over safety. For victims, the harm is lifelong. Anybody who thinks it’s ‘just a photo’ should understand that the harm is lasting and deep,” she said.

The report concludes that while child sexual exploitation across South Asia, including Nepal, is rampant, it is not inevitable. Through coordinated regional efforts, stronger governance, and advocacy from survivors, Childlight contends millions of children’s futures can still be protected.