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“I’m just content to them”: Children living through sexual exploitation in Aotearoa New Zealand
A research report from ECPAT Child Alert New Zealand, 2025.
CHILD EXPLOITATION
About this report
ECPAT Child Alert is a New Zealand charitable organisation focused on protecting children from sexual exploitation. This research report examines how sexual exploitation is experienced, recognised and addressed in Aotearoa, centring the perspectives of the people who lived through it.
What the report found
Participants describe grooming, coercion, being filmed, physical abuse and rape, often repeatedly and in plain sight. The report finds that the absence of a national framework for understanding child sexual exploitation has led to fragmented practice, weak recognition and inconsistent responses across the country.
Its greatest value comes from the participants themselves: they identify specific system failures, and the opportunities for system repair and the protection of future victims.
”The absence of a national framework has led to fragmented practice, weak recognition and inconsistent responses.”
Why it matters for Aotearoa
The report addresses a significant gap in Aotearoa’s understanding of child sexual exploitation.
For the sector, it strengthens the evidence base for consistent recognition and response, and for the protection of future victims.
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