Child sexual abuse continues to be a problem in our world today. It is sickening that in this day and age, children are being objectified and forced or manipulated to take part in sexual activities. The internet has not helped, because it provides a platform for fast and easy dissemination of obscene material, exposing young children to perpetrators and making communication easier. That said, we can only be thankful for the IWF Kenya reporting portal that has recently been re-launched.
Seeing images and videos of child sexual abuse circulating online is heartbreaking. Now, you can do the right thing by reporting such cases. You can be part of the change you want to see. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a UK-based international charity responsible for finding and removing images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet has teamed up with the Kenyan Government’s Anti-Human Trafficking & Child Protection Unit (AHTCPU), and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) for the dedicated portal.
Jennifer Wamuyu from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) expressed the institution’s commitment to ensuring that children are safe in both the physical and virtual environments. By reporting such cases, you are doing the right thing, because your report could lead to the rescue of a young victim from further abuse.
The re-launched portal will now give members of the public in Kenya a place to report illegal material. How does it work? It’s simple. If you come across material that could potentially point towards child sexual abuse, you make a report on the portal. Once reported through the new portal, 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.
The good news is that reporting is completely anonymous and will not put you in any kind of trouble. Alternatively, if you would like to follow up with what happened, you are more than welcome to leave them your email address so that they can communicate with you.
The portal asks you to provide where you saw the content, the website details, and a description of what exactly you saw. Once you fill this in, you submit your report. It’s a quick efficient process that could take less than five minutes, and in doing so you can rescue a child’s life.
Susie Hargreaves, Chief Executive of the IWF, emphasized the fact that the children in these obscene images and videos are real. Now you can use the IWF reporting portal to report what you have seen and this will help the perpetrators to be caught and prosecuted.
Preventing the spread of these images and videos of children being sexually abused and raped is important for stopping the continued re-victimization of children. It is a truly global issue that demands an international response.
The public is advised that when making a report, they should:
- Provide the exact URL where child sexual abuse images are located.
2. Not report other harmful content – you can find details of other agencies to report to on the IWF’s website.
3. Report to the police if you are concerned about a child’s welfare,
4. Report only once for each web address – or URL. Repeat reporting of the same URL isn’t needed and wastes analysts’ time.
5. Report non-photographic visual depictions of the sexual abuse of children, such as computer-generated images. Anything of this nature, which is also hosted in the UK, the IWF can get removed.
If you wish to make a report click here.
The relaunch is being supported by 13 different organisations which will include a link to the portal on their websites. These are:
National Police Service – Website: https://www.npsc.go.ke
Kenya Police Service – Website: https://www.kenyapolice.go.ke
Administration Police service - Website: https://www.nationalpolice.go.ke
Kenya Prisons Service - Website: https://www.prisons.go.ke
National council for children services - Website: www.childrenscouncil.go.ke
National Police Service Commission - Website: https://www.npsc.go.ke
Communication Authority of Kenya – Website: https://ca.go.ke
Child Welfare Society of Kenya – Website: https://www.cwsk.go.ke
Department of Children Services (DCS) – Website: www.socialprotection.go.ke
National Council for Persons with Disability – Website: http://ncpwd.go.ke/
Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board - Website: http://ncpwd.go.ke/
National Gender and Equality commission - Website: https://www.ngeckenya.org/
The National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) - Website: https://ncaj.go.ke
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