New Partnership To Fight Online Criminal Content Forged

ComRes today announced a new partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK hotline for reporting online criminal content.

The pollster and leading market and opinion research agency will provide pro-bono polling, audience research and communications expertise to help develop the IWF’s policy and campaign focus.

ComRes Chairman, Andrew Hawkins, says the partnership underlines the company’s core values and that he hopes ComRes will play a meaningful role in helping the IWF achieve its vision of eliminating child sexual abuse images online.

Speaking about the new partnership, Mr Hawkins said, “Protecting the safety of children and other vulnerable people is a critical principle behind the conduct of all of our research. The internet is a brilliant invention but one blighted by the evil of child exploitation.  IWF is a very important organisation in the struggle to protect the vulnerable and we are really delighted to be working together.”

IWF’s Director of Communications, Emma Lowther said of the partnership, “It’s fabulous that ComRes has teamed up with us to offer such valuable experience and support.

“There are so many aspects of our work where I know ComRes’ expertise will boost our efforts, whether we’re trying to raise awareness among politicians, find the best way to reach the general public, parents, or garner coverage for our initiatives in the media.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with ComRes to really explore the potential of what we can achieve.”

ComRes works with clients across private, public and not-for-profit sectors to provide research insight to help manage reputation, public policy and communications strategy.

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For more information, please contact Andrew Hawkins, ComRes Chairman on 020 7871 8670 or [email protected]

About ComRes

One of the leading market and opinion research agencies serving clients in the UK, Europe and Asia, ComRes conducts the full range of qualitative and quantitative research.

In the UK ComRes produces regular polling on behalf of ITV News, the Independent, the Independent on Sunday, the Sunday Mirror, the Evening Standard, CNN and the BBC. ComRes conducts reputation, public policy and corporate communications research on behalf of clients including McDonalds, the Department of Health, Cancer Research UK, Asda, Save the Children, Lloyds Banking Group and Transport for London.

ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and employs members of the Market Research Society. ComRes operates three public opinion omnibus surveys every week, and maintains survey research panels of MPs, Peers, MEPs, AMs (in Wales), MSPs (in Scotland), MLAs (in Stormont), and local government Councillors in England & Wales. www.comres.co.uk

About the Internet Watch Foundation

The IWF was established in 1996 by the internet industry to provide the UK internet Hotline for the public and IT professionals to report criminal online content in a secure and confidential way. The Hotline service can be used anonymously to report:

    child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world;
    criminally obscene adult content hosted in the UK;
    non-photographic child sexual abuse images hosted in the UK.

For more information please visit www.iwf.org.uk.