IWF launches six international reporting portals for child sexual abuse material during lockdown
The new portals will help make the internet a safer place. They give people a safe and anonymous place to report this material if they accidentally stumble across it on the internet.
The portals have been set up by the Internet Watch Foundation, (a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre and the UK charity responsible for finding and removing videos and images of children suffering child sexual abuse from the internet) and several organisations in the hosting countries. The organisations working in partnership with IWF in each nation are: ECPAT in Indonesia; UNICEF Mongolia and the Communications Regulatory Commission of Mongolia (CRCMN); Facebook, Peace One Day, and the Malian Government in Mali; and the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) in Pakistan. All six portals were set up with funds from the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children.
Once reported through the new portals, images and videos will be assessed by trained IWF analysts in the UK. If they are found to contain child sexual abuse, they can be blocked and removed from the internet. This prevents the continued sharing of the material, preventing revictimisation of the children who have suffered sexual abuse.
Susie Hargreaves, CEO of the IWF, said: “It’s really important the world doesn’t take its eye off the suffering of children – and their suffering is being amplified online every day when criminals share images and videos of their sexual abuse and torture.
“These portals are essential in fighting the global spread of child sexual abuse material wherever in the world it is found. This will make children everywhere safer.”
The latest IWF portal has launched today in Senegal. It is the 38th IWF Portal, the 17th to be set up in Africa, and the 20th Global Fund sponsored portal.
IWF Portals are now available in 16 languages, Arabic, English, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Kazakh, Lingala, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Ukrainian, Urdu and Wolof.
The IWF is part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, working with Childnet International and the SWGfL to promote the safe and responsible use of technology for children and young people.
The IWF works globally to stop child sexual abuse imagery on the internet. If you ever stumble across a sexual image or video of someone you think is under 18, please report to the IWF. Reporting can be done anonymously and confidentially – we don’t need your details, just your help.