Namibia launches IWF reporting portal for online images and videos of child sexual abuse

Web users in Namibia will now have a dedicated online portal for reporting child sexual abuse images and videos, safely and anonymously.

An innovative online Reporting Portal for child sexual abuse imagery has been launched in Namibia today (27 June 2017). The IWF Namibian Reporting Portal is supported by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of the Republic of Namibia, UNICEF and Lifeline/ChildLine Namibia.

What is the IWF Reporting Portal?

By working closely with internet companies and countries worldwide, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) helps internet users who stumble across online child sexual abuse images and videos to report it anonymously, via a web-based reporting Hotline.

For countries without a hotline of their own, the IWF Reporting Portal means that citizens can safely report illegal imagery. 

How does it work?

If a web user in Namibia stumbles across an image of a child being sexually abused, they can report what they’ve seen in five simple steps.

A report can be made completely anonymously, and it only takes a few seconds. 

The report is then assessed by an expert analyst from the IWF Hotline team, based in the UK. If the image or video is illegal, the analyst will use a global network of partners to get that content taken down. 

What impact will the Namibia Reporting Portal have?

The potential impact is huge. Each time an image or video of child sexual abuse is uploaded, shared or viewed, that child victim is re-victimised. Web users in Namibia can help protect the victims of child sexual abuse by reporting images or videos when they stumble across them.

Having a dedicated online Reporting Portal which can be used completely anonymously, gives people the confidence to report these horrendous images without fear.

Susie Hargreaves OBE, IWF CEO, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be announcing the launch of the Namibia Reporting Portal. We’re now able to provide a first-class Reporting Portal to protect the citizens of Namibia. Child sexual abuse imagery is a global problem and we can only fight it with a truly global solution.”

“We want the web users of Namibia to be protected from stumbling across this content, but if they do, we want them to know there’s a safe and trusted place where they can report what they’ve seen. We know from our work here at the IWF that just one report is all it takes to identify and rescue a child from sexual abuse.”

Award-winning services for industry

IWF is a non-profit organisation working with the global internet industry by providing them with unique world-leading services to help their Members make the internet safer for their users wherever they are in the world.

The IWF Image Hash List won the Innovation of the Year 2016 award. It’s the most up-to-date and efficient way of removing and preventing online child sexual abuse images from appearing on the internet. And it’s the best way to protect internet users from stumbling across this type of content.

With the IWF Namibia Reporting Portal established IWF will be looking to work with the internet industry in Namibia to help them further protect their users from stumbling across online child sexual abuse images and videos.

Ends

Notes to editors:

Contact: Emma Hardy, IWF Director of External Relations +44 (0) 1223 203030 or +44 (0) 7929 553679. 

About IWF:

We make the internet a safer place. We help victims of child sexual abuse worldwide by identifying and removing online images and videos of their abuse. We search for child sexual abuse images and videos and offer a place for the public to report them anonymously. We then have them removed. We’re a not for profit organisation and are supported by the global internet industry and the European Commission. 

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

The IWF is part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, working with Childnet International and the South West Grid for Learning to promote the safe and responsible use of technology.

Real images, real children

Behind each image is a real child victim. We know that every single time an image or video of a victim is viewed, this child suffers victimisation. We’re here to stop that. For good.

IWF offers a safe and secure place for the public to report suspected child sexual abuse material. 

The IWF team of expert analysts assess every single report made to our Hotline. IWF assessments are accurate and trusted by the police and the internet industry around the globe.

Each week, they manually assess more than 1,000 webpages. Each webpage may contain one or thousands of images of child sexual abuse.