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A recent international report has documented appalling levels of child abuse and sexual exploitation in South Asia, and Nepal is one of the countries most vulnerable to this. It is estimated that nearly one in eight children in South Asia has been sexually assaulted or raped before the age of 18, as reported by the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute. The institute estimated that in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India, 12.5 percent of children, a total of 54m, have been sexually victimized, including 14.5 percent of girls and 11.5 percent of boys.

The study, Into The Light and published on Tuesday, was conducted by Childlight, a global child safety institute based at the University of Edinburgh and the University of New South Wales. It warns that behind the closed doors of their homes, a “human tragedy” is unfolding across the region, with millions of children subjected to both physical and online sex abuse.

In addition to sexual exploitation, the report highlights a staggering rise in cyber child exploitation, including a 1,325 percent rise in poisonous AI-created content during the past year, such as “deepfake” images that overlay children’s faces on pornographic images. The research is being demonstrated this week in New Delhi and Kerala, where Childlight is collaborating with Indian police at the region’s largest cybersecurity conference, c0c0n, to enhance digital defenses and locate abusers.

India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan lead the country in the most child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to data reported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and INHOPE. NCMEC reported more than 2.2m cases in India, 1.1m in Bangladesh, and 1m in Pakistan in 2024 alone. Adjusted for population, the Maldives had the highest in the region’s CSAM rate at 94 cases per 10,000 people, followed by Bangladesh (64.1), Pakistan (41.3), Bhutan (41), Afghanistan (28.9), Sri Lanka (27.8), Nepal (19.4), and India (15.5).

Childlight CEO Paul Stanfield, a previous director of INTERPOL, called the results a worldwide emergency. “Abuse is nearer than folks imagine. Millions of children’s lives are being ruined by physical and sexual abuse online. It is preventable, and all of us can and must intervene to stop it,” he stated.

In Nepal, Anil Raghuvanshi of ChildSafeNet called on governments and tech business leaders to take action. “Children become increasingly exposed to abuse and exploitation on the internet. Governments and technology companies should take action at once with effective protections and sufficient resources. Not safeguarding children is not fulfilling their duties,” he said.

South Asian survivors also provided the same message. Saanika Kodial (14) of Mumbai, who survived online sexual abuse, is now campaigning with the Brave Movement. “Survivors are made to feel guilty and ashamed. Speaking their words does not make them the villain. There will always exist individuals who trust and believe them,” she said.

Childlight is urging governments to enact stronger legislation, faster removal of abuse content and education schemes that equip children and professionals with Internet safety skills. It also praised India for its blanket publication of child sexual exploitation data, which enables it to track trends and construct response mechanisms.

Official data show that police-reported incidents of child sexual exploitation in India rose from 54,359 in 2021 to 64,469 in 2022, while in Pakistan the number roughly doubled from 1,546 to 2,954.

Stanfield outlined that even though the figures are deeply troubling, availability of data can lead to solutions. “The transparency of the data allows governments and law enforcement to target interventions and spur reporting,” he added.

Survivor campaigner Rhiannon-Faye McDonald, groomed online and raped at 13, criticized technology companies for caring little about user safety. “Technology companies have long prioritized profit over safety. For victims, the harm is lifelong. Anybody who thinks it’s ‘just a photo’ should understand that the harm is lasting and deep,” she said.

The report concludes that while child sexual exploitation across South Asia, including Nepal, is rampant, it is not inevitable. Through coordinated regional efforts, stronger governance, and advocacy from survivors, Childlight contends millions of children’s futures can still be protected.

More than 1,000 houses were affected from floods that occurred with incessant rainfall on Saturday and Sunday in Sunsari district. 

Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Keshav Thebe, shared that the flood had affected 1,370 houses at Inaruwa, Dharan, Itahari, Barahakshetra, Duhabi, Ramdhuni, Inaruwa, Gadhi, Barju, Koshi, Bhokraha, Harinagar and Dewangunj. 

A total of 5,474 people were directly affected from floods at different streams and rivers in the district and the houses were partly damaged by flood, he added. 

Teams of security personnel had rescued 344 people trapped in flood, it was shared. Two hundred families of Inaruwa were displaced due to floods and dozens of settlements at Inaruwa Municipality-3, 4, 9 and 10 were inundated.  

With Dashain parties and visitors coming over all throughout the day, our kitchens might have seen better days. It’s a small price to pay for reconnecting with loved ones but now it’s time to get rid of the grime and we’re sure you aren’t looking forward to it just like us. The thing with cleaning hacks is that sometimes they don’t work and leave you with a bigger mess than you started out with. Which is why we are sharing some of our tried and tested ones with you today. 

Baking soda to the rescue

You can clean all kinds of messes and stains with baking soda. Clean your sink with baking soda and lemon. Sprinkle some baking soda on your kitchen sink and let it sit for a few minutes. Use half a lemon to scrub the sink after that and wash with water. Your stainless steel sink will look brand new as you will easily be able to get rid of water marks and stains with this easy cleaning trick. You can also make a paste of baking soda with water and apply it to cookware, ovens, and stovetops and let that sit for 15 to 30 minutes before scrubbing it clean. Baking soda with dish soap or vinegar is also a great cleaning agent. Baking soda also helps get rid of bad odor.

Use a toothbrush to get to difficult places

Oven racks, blender blades, kitchen tile joints—there are some places in the kitchen that are hard to reach and thus usually a little dirty. But they don’t need to be. All you need is an old toothbrush and some cleaning solution and you can have these difficult areas shiny and new in no time. To clean the oven rack and blender blades, tie two toothbrushes together with the bristles facing each other. This way the bristles will cover the wire from all sides and it will be easier to scrub. You can also run a toothbrush over the tile joints in your kitchen and give them a thorough scrub to get rid of the grit and grime.

Make things sparkle with lemon and vinegar

You don’t need strong chemical agents to clean anything in your kitchen. All of us have lemon and vinegar in our pantries and just these two ingredients are enough to get rid of the strongest stains and odors. Microwave lemon in a bowl of water to clean your oven. Let it run for three minutes and then keep the oven door closed for an additional five minutes. The steam will help loosen the gunk attached to the walls as well as make it smell fresh. Give it a good wipe down when done and your oven will look brand new. Use lemon and salt to clean your cutting boards. Simply sprinkle some salt on the board and scrub it with half a lemon. Place lemon peels on the fridge door to get rid of odor. Mix equal parts of white vinegar and water to create an all purpose spray for the kitchen. This solution can be used to clean countertops and cabinets.

At least 16 persons were injured when a microbus and a motorbike collided with each other at HaramiChowk- 4, Bagmati Rural Municipality, Makwanpur, along the Madan Bhandari Highway on Tuesday.  

The bus (M.P. 02-001 Ja 0072) was heading towards Hetauda from Sindhuli when it collided head-on with the motorcycle (Na 5 Pa 5558).

The microbus lost control following the collision and fell some 15 feet down the road.

Police said that 16 persons including the bike rider were injured in the incident. The injured have been taken to the local Sambhi Polyclinic and Cooperative Hospital for medical treatment, said Inspector Thakur Sapkota of the District Police Office, Makwanpur.