A survey by the Open Data Platform of the Public Ministry, released on the National Day of Struggle against Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, revealed that between 2015 and May 2026, 34,001 children and adolescents were treated as victims of sexual abuse in Paraguay. Added to this number are another 23,463 minor victims in cases of sexual coercion, rape, child pornography, and sexual and labor exploitation recorded in the last eight years.
From January to May 2026 alone, authorities recorded 1,184 victims. The Central Department leads the occurrences, with 408 reports, followed by Alto Paraná (164), Asunción (106), Itapúa (81), San Pedro and Caaguazú (69), Cordillera (46), and Guairá (40).
The profile of victims shows that 82.2% are girls and female adolescents, while 17.8% are boys. The most vulnerable age group is 10 to 13 years old, accounting for 45.2% of cases; children aged 5 to 9 represent 32%.
The most alarming data point is the location of the crime: in 40% of cases, the aggressor is a relative from the family nucleus. Within this group, fathers are the most reported (33%), followed by stepfathers (26%), grandparents and cousins (15% each). Neighbors appear in 19% of cases, and people close to the family, such as relatives' partners, in 18%.
Between 2019 and 2026, 13,884 cases of child pornography were investigated, with 75% concentrated in Asunción and the Central Department. In the same period, 6,334 rape victims were recorded. In the last five years, 139 minors were victims of human trafficking, with 99 subjected to labor exploitation and 40 to sexual exploitation.