Sobering Truths: DIA Transparency Report Exposes Scale of Online Child Sexual Exploitation in Aotearoa

This week, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) released its Transparency Report on rates and trends of online child sexual exploitation in Aotearoa — and its findings are deeply sobering.

The report reveals that there were over one million attempts from Aotearoa IP addresses to access websites containing sexually abusive material involving children. This staggering number brings to light the uncomfortable reality that child sexual exploitation is not a distant or isolated issue — it is happening here, in our communities.

For too long, there has been a tendency to assume that such exploitation doesn’t happen in Aotearoa, or that it couldn’t affect “our” children. The Transparency Report offers concrete evidence that challenges these assumptions, making clear just how vulnerable young people are to being sexually exploited online. What’s particularly concerning is that this exploitation often occurs through everyday online behaviours — the same social interactions and platforms that are a normal part of life for young people today.

Encouragingly, public awareness is growing. Last year, over 900 reports of suspected online child exploitation came from members of the public based in Aotearoa. This shows that when people see something concerning, they are stepping forward to report it — a vital part of combatting this crime.

However, the vast majority of referrals — over 16,000 — came via the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and largely from social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. This raises a critical concern about the future of detection. If these platforms implement end-to-end encryption without adequate safeguards, the volume of detected and reported abuse could drop dramatically. Encryption may block access to reports — but not the abuse itself.

The DIA’s Digital Child Exploitation Team continues to shine a light on this hidden crisis, reinforcing the urgent need to acknowledge and address online child sexual exploitation in Aotearoa. One key tool in this effort is the Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System (DCEFS), which blocks access to websites hosting clearly objectionable child sexual abuse material. Oversight of this system is supported by the Independent Reference Group (IRG), where organisations such as ECPAT  NZ provide independent input to ensure the system is operated with integrity and transparency.

The report also touches on an important and often overlooked aspect: the link between consuming abusive material and the risk of physical offending. While not everyone who is sexually attracted to children will act on those impulses, access to support and early intervention is crucial. A new piece of research presented this week by Courtney Spiller highlighted the need to remove the stigma surrounding this attraction — not to excuse it, but to encourage those struggling with these feelings to seek help before harm is done. Organisations like Wellstop offer confidential support and intervention services for this purpose.

Ultimately, the DIA’s Transparency Report is a wake-up call. It challenges us to stop pretending this issue doesn’t exist in Aotearoa — and demands that we take collective responsibility for protecting our children online.