In emergency: call 111

24/7 helpline: 0800 650 654

Emergency: Call 111

Helpline: 0800 650 654

Information for Victims of Crime in Aotearoa New Zealand

Child abuse

Child sexual abuse material

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Overview

This page explains what child sexual abuse material is, where to get support, and what you can do if you are worried about a child or young person.

If something doesn't feel right, help is available

If you are worried about a child or young person, you can ask for advice or raise a concern with Police or Oranga Tamariki. 

Police: If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. If you can’t speak for fear of harm, you will be asked to press keys for emergency assistance. If it is not an emergency, you can visit your local police station or ring 105. 

Oranga Tamariki: You can contact a social worker from Oranga Tamariki through 0508 326 459 or through their online form.

A child or young person is never at fault

Child sexual abuse can happen to any child or young person. It can be hard to recognise and children or young people may not always have the words, confidence, or understanding to describe what is happening to them.

Sexual abuse is never the fault of a child or young person. They are not to blame, even if they shared intimate content, trusted the other person, or responded to pressure, threats or manipulation.

If you are worried about online content, messages, images, videos, or live-streamed material involving a child or young person, you can ask for advice or raise a concern. Support is available. There are organisations that can help you. 

More information about supporting organisations

Terms you may hear

Content that depicts the sexual abuse or exploitation of children is commonly referred to in New Zealand as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). These terms recognise that content involves the abuse and the exploitation of children.

Terms like child pornography or child porn are incorrect and harmful as they wrongly imply consent where there is none.

In the New Zealand criminal justice system, legal documents and court proceedings may use the legal terms objectionable material or objectionable publications. 

Understanding child sexual abuse material

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is any text, image, video, audio, livestream or other content that shows, records, or promotes the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child or a young person under the age of 18. This includes the use of AI and other technology to create sexual content involving children or young people.

Any content that shows, encourages or supports the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people is illegal in Aotearoa New Zealand, regardless of whether it involves a real child. 

No child can give consent

In New Zealand legislation, a child is aged 13 or younger, and a young person is aged 14 to 17 years.

The legal age of consent in Aotearoa New Zealand is 16. However, the rules for sexual content are different. A young person being 16 or 17 does not make it legal to create, share, posses, or distribute sexual content involving them.

Forms of child sexual abuse material and its distribution

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) can take many forms including images, videos, or digitally created material. It may be created by a family or whānau member, someone the child or young person knows, or a stranger. Regardless of who created it or how it was created, CSAM causes harm and is illegal in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

    • photos or videos showing the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child or young person
    • audio or video recordings of a child or young person being groomed, pressured, manipulated or forced into sexual activity
    • livestreamed abuse or exploitation involving a child or young person
    • AI-generated, computer-generated, or digitally altered content that shows or supports sexual abuse or exploitation of children or young people
    • any written, audio, visual, or online content that is viewed, obtained, downloaded, or shared that shows, supports or encourages a sexual interest in children or young people. 
    • social media platforms like X, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok
    • messaging services like WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal or Telegram
    • online gaming platforms with in-game chat features like Fortnite, Roblox or Minecraft
    • online forums or chat rooms like Reddit or Discord
    • file-sharing and cloud storage services. 

Child sexual abuse material and grooming 

Grooming is a pattern of behaviour used to gain a child or young person's trust so that a person can abuse, exploit, or harm them, for example through child sexual abuse material. Grooming can happen to any child or young person and can occur both in person and online.

Grooming can look like a lot of different things. The person targeting a child or young person can use different behaviours and methods to build trust with the child, young person or their family and whānau with the purpose of getting access to the child or young person. 
 
Find more information about child abuse and grooming.

 

If intimate content that was non-consensually created, shared, or threatened to be shared involves someone from the age of 18 and over, it is called image-based sexual abuse. 
 
Learn more about image-based sexual abuse

When to report

You can talk to someone if you’re worried about content involving a child or a young person. You do not have to be sure that harm has occurred. If something doesn’t feel right, you can still ask for advice or raise a concern.

You can get help if you are worried that a child or young person: 

  • is being contacted or communicated in a way that feels unsafe
  • has seen sexual content
  • is being asked to create, share or send sexual content
  • is being exploited or harmed online. 

If a child or young person has told you something has happened to them, you can support them to talk to someone safe.  

You do not need to view any content to get support or make a report

If you receive CSAM, or someone shares it with you, do not download, save, share, or forward it. 
 
Report it as soon as possible. 
 
CSAM is illegal and sharing it can cause further harm to the child or young person involved.

Reporting options

You can raise your concerns even if you’re worried you might be wrong. If you’re unsure if the young person in the content you have seen is underage, you can still report it. 
 
People who report suspected child sexual abuse material in good faith are protected by the law.

If you’re unsure who to report to

  1. If you’re unsure who to report to or want more information, you can contact Child Alert New Zealand: 

    They also developed a visual guide to help you find information about support options available for you: 

    Referral Pathways For Sexual Exploitation Support | ECPAT NZ (external link) 

Who you can report to

  1. The New Zealand Police have an Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand (OCEANZ) team that investigates online paedophile or child exploitation networks. You can contact the New Zealand Police in a way that suits you:

    • In an emergency freephone 111. If you need help but it’s not safe to speak, you will be asked to press keys for emergency assistance.
    • For non-emergency reporting, freephone 105.
    • Online form(external link)

  2. The Digital Child Exploitation Team at DIA is responsible for keeping New Zealanders safe from online harm by responding to and preventing the spread of child sexual exploitation material. You can report child sexual abuse material anonymously using their online form:   

  3. You can contact Oranga Tamariki(external link) if you are worried about a child or a young person, even if you are not sure child sexual abuse material is part of the abuse: 

  4. Netsafe(external link) provides free support, advice and education to help keep people safe online including helping to remove intimate content. You can anonymously report child sexual abuse material: 

  5. New Zealand Customs investigates the import and export of CSAM and objectionable material. You can contact them through: 

What to do if a child or young person has experienced sexual abuse

Learning that a child or young person may have experienced sexual abuse can be distressing and shocking. How you respond can make a different in their recovery.  
 
It can help to: 

  • listen to them without blame
  • take their concerns seriously
  • let them know they are not alone
  • emphasise whatever happened was not their fault
  • help them talk to a safe adult or support service. 

You do not need to ask the child or young person to show or resend intimate content to take their concerns seriously or offer help and support.

More information about organisations that can help you
Learn more about how to support someone else
More information about looking after your own wellbeing while supporting someone else

What you can do next

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