LCQ18: Protecting children from sexual abuse
********************************************
Question:
In recent years, cases of sexual abuse against children have aroused public concern. There are views that the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet technology is exposing children to more porn traps, while cases of persistent sexual abuse involving children are also encountering difficulties in terms of evidence collection and conviction. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of cases among the cases of sexual abuse against children in the past three years involving social media or online pornographic materials, and AI deepfake technology;
(2) of the measures put in place by the Government to prevent children from accessing online pornographic materials; whether it will draw reference from overseas experience and study regulating children's use of social media; and
(3) given that child victims in sexual abuse cases often have immature mental development and cognitive abilities and do not know how to seek help in a timely manner, and that in cases involving long-term or repeated abuse, young victims usually have difficulty in accurately recalling and describing all the case details, resulting in difficulties in evidence collection, whether the Government will study amending the legislation or introducing targeted measures in view of such circumstances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to the welfare of children, and has been striving to protect children from various kinds of harm, combat sexual offences against children and foster the healthy growth of children. The Government protects children through enforcement, promotion and education, and enhancement of protection under the law. In consultation with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Health Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Department of Justice (DoJ), the reply to the Member's question is provided as follows:
(1) The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) recorded 2 156 child sexual abuse cases in the past three years.
In view of the gravity of child abuse cases related to online child sexual grooming, the HKPF systematically maintains related figures starting from 2025 to provide an evidential basis for formulating more effective strategies to address the problem. Online child sexual grooming cases involve sex offenders aged 18 or above getting to know victims aged under 17 through the Internet (via channels such as communication applications, social media platforms and mobile game applications), with an aim to sexually abuse the victim. A total of 100 cases related to online child sexual grooming were recorded in 2025. Forty cases were recorded in the first four months of 2026.
(2) To prevent children from accessing online pornographic materials, the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) has been implementing publicity and education measures to enhance the understanding of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) among children and young people, develop the concept of proper use of the Internet, and encourage relevant stakeholders to help them use the Internet wisely. Apart from continuing to organise programmes such as the "Healthy Information Student Ambassadors Scheme", the "Healthy Student Video Contest", and seminars in schools, etc, OFNAA introduced in-school mobile promotion stations in the 2025/26 school year to further promote the concept of rejecting harmful information in primary and secondary schools through interactive games, case sharing, role play, quiz competitions and exhibitions, etc. A total of 20 sessions of the relevant programme were held as of February 2026, reaching about 4 000 participants in total. In addition, OFNAA arranged about 100 roving drama performances for schools and eight roving exhibitions at different shopping malls and Government premises, promoting the relevant message to primary and secondary students as well as all sectors of the community respectively.
OFNAA has also strengthened inter-departmental and inter-organisational collaboration, working with the Education Bureau, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the HKPF, the Customs and Excise Department, and the Immigration Department, etc, in organising multiple talks on "Wise Use of Internet" for different stakeholders including children and young people, parents, teaching staff and the public. The talks involve sharing on common online pitfalls to help them develop proper values while deepening their understanding of Cap. 390.
The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address also announced that the Department of Health would update the relevant guidelines to mitigate the impact of social media on the health of children and adolescents. The Advisory Group on Health Effects of Screen and Social Media Use for Children and Adolescents was established in October 2025 and is currently reviewing the latest scientific evidence as well as the relevant development and experiences in other countries and regions while consolidating expert opinions, with a view to issuing updated health recommendations on the use of electronic screens and social media by children and adolescents within 2026.
Furthermore, the HKPF has been striving to combat child pornography-related crimes through conducting online patrols and taking intelligence-led enforcement actions continuously to combat child pornographic materials. If the HKPF discovers illegal or inappropriate child pornography online, they will proactively contact and demand the relevant platform to remove such content promptly, and take appropriate law enforcement actions.
At the same time, the HKPF will continue to combat child pornography-related crimes jointly with other countries or regions through cross-border co-operation. The HKPF joined the International Child Sexual Exploitation database of the INTERPOL in 2025 to compare and analyse child pornographic images around the world, and assist in identifying the identities of child victims and perpetrators, as well as the places of occurrence. The HKPF also regularly participates in joint operations that involve multiple jurisdictions to safeguard children from being exploited by criminals in various forms of pornographic activities or sexual abuse. From March to April 2026, the HKPF collaborated with law enforcement agencies from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Brunei in a joint operation code-named "CYBER GUARDIAN" to combat child pornography and online exploitative behaviours. Three hundred and twenty-six persons were arrested during the operation, among whom nine males were arrested by the HKPF. Multiple computers and mobile phones, which contain over 200 child pornographic videos or images, were seized.
(3) The Government consistently attaches great importance to children's rights and is committed to combating sexual violence. Regarding cases involving long-term or multiple incidents of abuse against children, the DoJ provides active legal advice to examine whether the enactment or amendment of legislation is necessary to address challenges in evidence-gathering and prosecution, so as to ensure that vulnerable victims are fully protected while justice is upheld.
To support child victims who testify against perpetrators, and reduce their stress and secondary damages in criminal proceedings, the HKPF, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the Judiciary adopt special measures in the collection of evidence and during court hearings (such as arranging children to give evidence through video-recorded interviews conducted in a comfortable home-like environment by specially trained personnel, allowing children to testify by means of a live television link in the company of trained witness-support persons, and the Courts granting anonymity orders to protect the privacy of victims). Furthermore, the HKPF established the Vulnerable Witness and Child Protection Task Force jointly with the DoJ and the SWD in 2022 to speed up and improve the evidence collection, prosecution and follow-up work. In the same year, the HKPF also established the Vulnerable Witness Support Cadre to assist child victims through 250 professionally-trained members. These measures effectively support child victims in testifying against the perpetrators in sexual abuse cases, in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.
On the other hand, to facilitate early identification and intervention of suspected child abuse cases, the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance (Cap. 650) came into effect in January 2026. Cap. 650 mandates specified professionals to make a report as soon as practicable if there is a reasonable ground to suspect a child is suffering serious harm or is at real risk of suffering serious harm that come to the notice of the professionals during the course of their work. Schedule 2 of Cap. 650 clearly specifies that serious harm caused by sexual abuse includes any harm caused by coercing or enticing a child to take part in rape, incest, buggery, sexual intercourse or any act of gross indecency.
The Government will continue to monitor the trends related to child sexual abuse closely, and formulate appropriate strategies for enforcement actions and promotion to protect children holistically. In addition, the Government is actively studying the recommendations set out in the report on the Review of Substantive Sexual Offences in 2019, and the report on Sentencing and Related Matters in the Review of Sexual Offences in 2022, published by the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. The exercise aims to review and improve the laws on sexual offences in Hong Kong in a comprehensive manner, which includes enhancing the legal protection to children. The Government plans to consult the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Security and conduct a public consultation in the second half of 2026 on the proposed legislative amendments relating to sexual offences. Subsequently, the Government will submit the relevant amendment bill to the LegCo within 2026, with the target of completing the legislative exercise within the current term of Government.
Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:40
Issued at HKT 12:40
NNNN