Awareness Campaign 2005
Objectives
- Increase awareness of section 46 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the MoU
- Educate as to how to implement internal company/employee guidelines
- Promote awareness of the IWF
Target Audiences
- IT professionals in England and Wales
- HR, Legal & Regulatory professionals in England and Wales
Key Messages
- Be aware of relevant law regarding indecent images of children in the workplace
- Develop and implement relevant company policy & procedure to ensure staff are informed and protected
- Report indecent images of children online which you suspect to be illegal to the IWF
- Utilise and refer to information provided on the IWF website as authoritative advice and guidance
Why is this campaign important?
Prior to this legislation any IT Professional, such as Systems Administrators, who might be responsible for monitoring company internet use and content would have been breaking the law by viewing any illegal images of children, whether deliberately or accidentally, during the course of their work.
The SOA 2003 changes this and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) developed by ACPOand the CPS outlines this new defence and provides specific guidelines for those individuals who may be subject to exposure to such images, due to the nature of their work.
This legislation and accompanying MoU provides an opportunity for companies to implement clear and definitive policies around this type of illegal content and makes it easier to report any images found on desktops, laptops or mobile devices.
Any companies offering internet use to employees should be encouraged by this and ensure they understand the circumstances and conditions of the defence, in order to develop internal procedures accordingly and in line with UK law.
Methods and Materials
Stage 1
IWF research commissioned to establish current levels of awareness amongst target audience
Status: completed September 2004
Stage 2
Press release reviewing results of research
Status: completed and published September and October 2004
The wipeitout@iwf.org.uk email address has been set up so IT Professionals or other interested parties can email the IWF for more information.
Full page IWF advert in IT Week endorsed by the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and the ISP Association published September 2004.
Stage 3
Official 'Wipe it Out' Campaign launch
Press Release revealing new research, promoting the new IWF 'Best Practice' guide and announcing the conference planned for June 2005. New section on the IWF website providing relevant information for target audiences.
Stage 4
Direct marketing campaign to 3,000+ IT Professionals in England and Wales
Status: Distributed 2nd week May 2005
Interim relevant activity
- Ongoing promotion of the information available on the website to relevant partners and stakeholders including the police forces
- Creation and distribution of a hard copy of the ‘Best Practice’ reference guide and other materials to as wide an audience as possible
- Interaction & liaison with member companies who may have relevant audiences and customers who they can communicate this message to and circulate the postcards/’Best Practice’ reference guide
- Promotion of the mini-conference: relevant publications & events, online media, via the IWF website and through stakeholders and partners (customers, websites etc)
- Refer to the campaign at any relevant media opportunity and when talking to any appropriate audiences
Stage 5
Mini-conference, Central London, 15th June 2005
This conference was attended by 50 delegates from medium to large enterprises (200+). Decision makers within the companies were invited, such as senior management (CEO/CTO/COO,) IT and HR managers.
The conference took the form of a series of presentations followed by a Q&A session with all the panel members.
Speakers:
- Jim Gamble, Deputy Director General, National Crime Squad & ACPO Lead for Combating Child Abuse Images on the Internet
- Christine Atkinson NSPCC Policy Advisor
- Mark Gracey, Manager, Internet Content Regulation, THUS plc
- Nick Truman, Head of Internet Security, BT Retail
Paul Goggins MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office opened the conference.
Peter Robbins, IWF CEO chaired the event.
Stage 6
Stage 6
Final research to establish how effective the campaign has been and to review levels of awareness and understanding amongst this audience.
Status: Completed July 2005. For results click here.
Page Created: Fri, April 22nd, 2005
Page Modified: Fri, February 3rd, 2006
