Online child porn watchdog launched
In an effort to stop the spread of online child sexual abuse material, Namibia last week joined the ranks of countries globally by launching an online whistleblowing tool aimed at taking down and preventing the distribution of child pornography online.
“The emergence of online child sexual abuse images and videos, also called 'child pornography', is a scourge of our time and a reality in any country. Namibia is not immune to online child sexual abuse material,” said Unicef representative, Marcus Betts at the launch.
According to a study done in 2016 on knowledge, attitudes and practices of ICT use and online protection risks, found that 29% of respondents had seen child sexual abuse material online.
These findings bust the myth still prevalent in Namibia that children do not access the internet on a large scale and are not at risk of online violence and exploitation, Betts said.
“The global, and now also nationally available, evidence has accelerated the engagement of the highest levels of government, including law enforcement and criminal justice partners, to collaborate to creating a safer environment for children,” he said.
“Namibia, like many other countries, is concerned with child online protection as the number of online users increases rapidly, resulting in online risks for children and requiring adequate responses to address child online protection,” Linda Aipenge from the information ministry said at the launch.
Against this background, the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) launched a national online reporting portal for child pornography in collaboration with Lifeline/Childline Namibia and several ministries last week, to help identify and remove the material.
The IWF is a non-governmental organisation that works globally to help victims of child sexual abuse worldwide by identifying and removing online images and videos of their abuse.
The portal has been set up on the Lifeline/Childline website and provides users with the option to identify themselves or report content anonymously.
IWF's director of policy and public affairs, Kristof Claesen said the portal has already been set up in 16 other countries.
“It brings together police, governments, child protection organisations and other key stakeholders to create awareness of the importance of reporting child sexual abuse images,” he said.
Namibia's portal will be hosted on the website of the organisation LifeLine / ChildLine.
With the click of a button, one will be able to report by sharing the respective web link with the abusive content. The portal can be accessed on Life Line/Child Lines website (www.lifelinechildline.org.na).
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“The emergence of online child sexual abuse images and videos, also called 'child pornography', is a scourge of our time and a reality in any country. Namibia is not immune to online child sexual abuse material,” said Unicef representative, Marcus Betts at the launch.
According to a study done in 2016 on knowledge, attitudes and practices of ICT use and online protection risks, found that 29% of respondents had seen child sexual abuse material online.
These findings bust the myth still prevalent in Namibia that children do not access the internet on a large scale and are not at risk of online violence and exploitation, Betts said.
“The global, and now also nationally available, evidence has accelerated the engagement of the highest levels of government, including law enforcement and criminal justice partners, to collaborate to creating a safer environment for children,” he said.
“Namibia, like many other countries, is concerned with child online protection as the number of online users increases rapidly, resulting in online risks for children and requiring adequate responses to address child online protection,” Linda Aipenge from the information ministry said at the launch.
Against this background, the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) launched a national online reporting portal for child pornography in collaboration with Lifeline/Childline Namibia and several ministries last week, to help identify and remove the material.
The IWF is a non-governmental organisation that works globally to help victims of child sexual abuse worldwide by identifying and removing online images and videos of their abuse.
The portal has been set up on the Lifeline/Childline website and provides users with the option to identify themselves or report content anonymously.
IWF's director of policy and public affairs, Kristof Claesen said the portal has already been set up in 16 other countries.
“It brings together police, governments, child protection organisations and other key stakeholders to create awareness of the importance of reporting child sexual abuse images,” he said.
Namibia's portal will be hosted on the website of the organisation LifeLine / ChildLine.
With the click of a button, one will be able to report by sharing the respective web link with the abusive content. The portal can be accessed on Life Line/Child Lines website (www.lifelinechildline.org.na).
STAFF REPORTER
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