The Internet Watch Foundation is at the forefront of the battle to protect survivors of abuse and make the Internet a safer place for all
February 13, 2024
Child sexual abuse is a growing problem, one that is getting worse year on year. The Internet Watch Foundation is at the forefront of the battle to protect survivors of abuse and make the Internet a safer place for all.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is a technology-led, child protection organisation, representing a proactive global response to the growing problem of child sexual abuse imagery online. It’s their mission to search for, remove and prevent the proliferation of child sexual abuse images and videos hosted online.
Located in an office in Histon’s Vision Park, Cambridge a team of more than 70 diverse people work towards a united mission of seeing a world where no child is ever sexually abused. Here, over 20 analysts work each day assessing images and videos of children suffering sexual abuse.
They work with a community made up of tech industries, law enforcement, governments, the education sector, charities, and the public to track down and remove this imagery wherever it appears online.
The imagery they see ranges from the abuse of babies to the exploitation teenagers and contains some of the worst horrors known to man.
These heroes, many local to Cambridgeshire, do one of the hardest jobs imaginable. It’s no easy feat, but their sacrifice helps preserve the rights of children, internet users, and service providers worldwide.
Since their start in 1996, the IWF have removed more than one million webpages confirmed to contain this abhorrent imagery. With each webpage containing hundreds or sometimes thousands of illegal images, this equates to the removal of millions of criminal images from the internet and the prevented revictimization of countless survivors.
Thanks to their work, the UK is now one of the safest places on earth to be online.
One of the greatest challenges faced by organisations like the IWF is raising awareness. Many parents and carers believe their child is safe at home, but any child with access to an internet connected device is vulnerable.
In 2023, the IWF identified 275,655 webpages containing child sexual abuse. Almost every webpage, 92% (254,070), were found to contain “self-generated” images or videos. This is imagery where a child has been groomed, manipulated, or coerced by a perpetrator to performing sexually via a webcam.
Often, a child does not fully understand what they were doing, why they’re doing it, or the risk that their images could be saved, shared, and traded by criminals on dedicated child sexual abuse sites and forums.
Since the pandemic this type of content has seen an increase of more than 1000%, with perpetrators taking advantage of the increasing amount of time children spend online to learn, socialise, and play. This is especially true of younger children, with last year’s data showing 42% (107,615) of webpages contained “self-generated” imagery of children under 10 years old.
While this issue is distressing, the IWF is keen to reassure parents/ carers, teachers and concerned members of the community that they are not alone.
Knowing what you can do to keep your child safe online can often feel overwhelming. But as experts in this field, the IWF is clear that the most important step you can take to keep your child safe online is to TALK:
Talk to your child about online sexual abuse.
Agree ground rules about the way you use technology as a family.
Learn about the platforms and apps your child loves.
Know how to use tools, apps, and settings about.
As a not-for-profit charity, this extraordinary organisation depends on the public to support their work.
The IWF are at the very heart of this wonderful community and urgently need your help to raise awareness and essential funds to aid in their mission of seeing an internet free from child sexual abuse material.
Their supporters are remarkable people from all walks of life. They do their bit to help keep children safe online, whether that’s raising awareness in their local communities, fundraising through bake sales, running marathons, or making voluntary donations. Their efforts help to support the IWFs vital mission and contribute to innovative tech for good, welfare & training and prevention campaigns.
The IWF know that change starts at home, and they’re looking for local supporters, project funders and corporate organisations to join them in their mission to see an internet free from child sexual abuse. Could that include you?
If you want to make a real difference and support an impactful cause, please get in touch with Kate Moss, IWF Head of Fundraising, via email kate.moss@iwf.org.uk, telephone +44 (0) 1223 61871 or LinkedIn.