Child pornography most easily accessible at Maldives in South Asia

A research has shown that Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) is most easily accessible in the Maldives among South Asian countries.

The ‘2025 Into the Light Index on Global Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse’ by Childlight, a global child safety institute that uses data to expose the hidden pandemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) across the world, provides details of the availability and production of CSAM by countries in South Asia.

The information was compiled based on reports filed with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) last year.

While India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have the highest volumes of CSAM in South Asia and together account for nearly all reports in the region, the Maldives stands out as the country where such material is most easily accessible by the population.

In this regard, Maldives has had 94 CSAM reports/notices per 10,000 people in 2024, followed by Bangladesh with 64.1 reports/notices per 10,000 people, which is 29.9 percent lower compared to the Maldives.

The Index also details the ages of the victims in CSAM accessible in the Maldives. The information was compiled based on data published by Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE).

According to data from IWF and INHOPE, most CSAM reported or noticed in the Maldives involves victims aged between three and 13 years. Meanwhile, NCMEC data shows that CSAM depicting victims aged 14 to 17 years is the most frequently sought.

Despite the continued prevalence of child sexual abuse in the Maldives, the number of reported cases does not accurately represent the real scale of the issue. In many cases, the offenders are individuals within the victim’s own family.