Objectives: The prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Hong Kong is not well known. This report aims to establish a Hong Kong-specific information hub about CSA across the various stages of a case (e.g., from occurrence to sentencing) by sourcing and analysing data on CSA currently available from government departments and bureaus, NGOs, and academic resources. Through the process of gathering and interpreting the data, this report seeks to: (i) estimate the prevalence of CSA in Hong Kong; (ii) illustrate what is known about CSA in Hong Kong based on review and comparison of available data; (iii) identify data that is not available thereby inhibiting a more comprehensive understanding of CSA in Hong Kong; and (iv) promote awareness of and collaboration among stakeholders to improve the safety for children in Hong Kong.
Methodology: The Prevalence section of this report uses studies and meta-analyses of international and China / Hong Kong peer reviewed journals that involved general populations of young people and adults, and specified rates for males or females individually. The What We Know section reviews evidence in the data from Hong Kong government departments and bureaus and NGOs from 2015-2024.
Results: TALK estimates the prevalence of child sexual abuse is 16% of the population of Hong Kong, with the rates being higher for females (20%) than for males (11%). Data is reviewed as obtained from the Social Welfare Department, Hong Kong Police Force, Department of Justice, Education Bureau, Correctional Services Department and two NGOs. Given the diverse nature of the datasets, our analysis respects the unique organisational differences and objectives of the governmental departments and bureaus. The rate of unreported cases in Hong Kong is estimated to be as high as 96%, based on prevalence comparison across a range of international studies. The Social Welfare Department reported cases 2015-2024 averaging 372 cases annually: 86% of victims were girls; 93% of perpetrators were male. In 2024, ~29% of cases involved neurodiverse victims. In the range of 2020-2024, 34% of cases involved children sexually harming children (referred to as Harmful Sexual Behaviour). The Hong Kong Police Force reported cases 2016-2024 averaging 476 cases annually: 74% of children knew their abuser; 73% of reported cases of victims aged 12-16. The Department of Justice reported cases 2015-2024 averaging 51 charges annually: 79% of charges resulted in a guilty verdict, 12% of convicted perpetrators were not given a custodial sentence.
Discussion: We highlight that Hong Kong’s Child Sexual Abuse data, with the official average reporting rate of 0.05%, falls below the estimated global reporting rate of 8%. This gap is attributed to potential underreporting and a paucity of local research on disclosure barriers, specific abuse types like child sexual abuse material, and perpetrator characteristics. Data shows that vulnerable populations, such as neurodiverse children, are at higher risk, while 22% of reported persons who harmed are 16 or under, indicating a need for intervention rather than criminalisation. We conclude our discussion by emphasising the need for better data and regulation, anticipating that Hong Kong’s new Mandated Reporting Ordinance in 2026 will significantly increase case reporting.
Recommendations: We conclude our report with ten recommendations towards improved prevention and response. These are:
- Increase public awareness, education and understanding of CSA.
- Improve the deterrence and interruption of abuse pathways.
- Improve regulation of the workforce,
- greater use and public availability of barring services.
- Establish a public single core dataset of victims and perpetrators.
- Commission Hong Kong-specific perpetration prevalence research.
- Review the justice response to CSA.
- Improve support for victims and survivors of CSA.
- Continue the efforts of legislative change.
- Increase awareness of evolving challenges.
This report was produced with the help of pro bono support and volunteers. If you have expertise to offer and content / corrections to share, please do get in touch at info@talkhongkong.org
Author: Taura Edgar, Founder + Chair of TALK Hong Kong
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary. 4
- Introduction. 5
- What’s Changed Since the Previous Edition?. 5
- Defining and Framing Child Sexual Abuse. 6
- Definitions. 6
- A Legal Reflection on the Definition of a Child. 7
- Prevalence Research. 8
- Estimated Rate of CSA Prevalence. 8
- Estimated Rate of Unreported CSA Cases. 9
- What We Know: Available Data. 11
- Hong Kong Child Population. 11
- Social Welfare Department 12
- Hong Kong Police Force. 18
- Department of Justice. 22
- Correctional Services Department 25
- End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation (NGO) 26
- Against Child Abuse (NGO) 29
- Education Bureau. 30
- The Gaps: Requested and Received Data. 31
- Discussion. 32
- Recommendations. 35
- Improving Prevention. 35
- Improving Response. 36
- Closing Comments. 37
- References. 38
- Appendices. 41
- Appendix A: Data requests and sources. 41
License: This report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International Licence. You are free to share and adapt the material for non-commercial purposes, with appropriate credit. The full license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/