Disclaimer: Whilst we appreciate that there may be something our visitors may wish to save, either a poem, a link, music, or a graphic, we would point out that most of the material on this web site is protected under copywrite laws. Therefore should there be something you would like a copy of please ask for permission from the Author in question (their contact details are listed below their work) or the Webmistress, and we will be only too happy to help you if we can.
Protecting children on the internet is a major UK government priority.
Please allow me to give you a brief summary of how the Government and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are tackling the problem of access to child abuse images on the internet. In 2004 British Telecom developed a technical solution which allows them to prevent their customers accidentally accessing all child abuse URL’s – as identified by the UK Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) – regardless of where it is hosted. This solution has been applied since mid 2004 and means that home users requesting a blacklisted webpage of a listed child abuse image receive a page not found error message.
The BT technology has subsequently been utilised by a number of other UK ISPs and mobile phone operators to block access to child abuse images. This does have the benefit of making it more difficult for those who may be curious or experimenting with child abuse on the internet and it will make it much harder for paedophiles to claim they found the material accidentally. This technology is now being looked at by over 16 countries worldwide. We are pleased with the progress which has been made in this area over the past year and we will continue to encourage the providers to take steps to seek to block illegal images wherever possible. The government is satisfied that the ISPs are, or are close to, providing filtering solutions of their own.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) was formed in 1996 following an agreement between the government, police and the ISP industry that a partnership approach was needed to tackle the distribution of child abuse images online. Essentially the IWF operate the only authorised 'hotline' in the UK for the public to report their inadvertent exposure to illegal content on the Internet. They provide a ‘notice and take down’ service to ISPs in the UK so they can remove potentially illegal content from their servers and they work closely with law enforcement agencies at home and abroad to help them trace offenders. As a result of these arrangements we have virtually eradicated the hosting of images of child abuse. Less than 0.4% of potentially illegal content is apparently hosted in the UK, down from 18% in 1997.
You may be aware that we have set up the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre which became operational on 24 April 2006. The Centre will provide a single point of contact for the public, law enforcers, and the communications industry to report targeting of children online, and will offer advice and information to parents and potential victims of abuse 24 hours a day. Based in London with up to 100 staff, it will also carry out proactive investigations and work with police forces around the world to protect children. More details can be found at http://www.ceop.gov.uk/
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (which came into force on 1 May 2004) made grooming a child an offence, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. The offence will be committed after an adult meets or arranges to meet a child with the intention of committing a sex offence, after at least two previous communications with them. We have increased the maximum sentences for possession and distribution of child pornography (offences for possession from 6 months to 5 years and for production and distribution offences from 3 years imprisonment to 10 years). Also, being convicted of a child pornography offence immediately places someone on the Sex Offenders Register, irrespective of sentence.
The UK has consistently taken a lead in raising this issue internationally. As you state, international collaboration is needed. Last year, for example, we used our presidencies of both the G8 and EU to discuss it with international Ministerial colleagues. At the G8 Justice and Home Affairs meeting in June 2005, G8 Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to tackling the abuse of children and redoubling our efforts to remove images of child abuse from the internet. They agreed that action to tackle criminal exploitation of the internet can only be truly effective if taken internationally.
Similarly, the EU meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in September 2005 concluded:-
That the internet offers enormous benefits to children, but also some risks.
That Member States should more effectively co-operate and share good practice in protecting children for example through education and awareness.
Member States should commit to fully exploiting the Interpol International Child Sexual Exploitation Database to proactively protect children.
The database will:
Be a powerful tool in the identifying victims and offenders wherever they are in the world.
Help Interpol and all participating countries to share intelligence on the generation and spread of child abuse images.
Use technology where possible to identify child victims and locations involved.
It will also prevent officers having to view duplicate abuse images already in the system unnecessarily.
Also, in November 2005, the Home Office, along with the Virtual Global Taskforce, hosted a joint EU Presidency/ VGT “Protecting Children Online” Conference. The event brought together approximately 250 delegates from law enforcement, government, the ICT industry and children’s charities. The Conference outcomes can be viewed at http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/eu-conference-outcomes
A march in London for families and friends of the missing and their supporters.
The aims of the march are;
To highlight all missing people in the UK
To lobby the Government in either establishing a support group for families of the missing or giving restricted funding to a charity such as Missing People so they are able to estabish a support group for families of the missing
To lobby the Government to establish a designated Missing Persons Team within every police force in the UK, thus guaranteeing a uniformed service and support network to each family that reports a missing family member, regardless of the age, class or gender of the missing person
For anyone who maybe interested in joining families, friends and supporters of the March for the Missing, it is being held on Wednesday 12th March 2008, at 10am. Starting at 32 Gt. Cumberland Place, London.
If you are able to attend please email themissing@hotmail.co.uk as we will have to go through official channels and contact the police with expected numbers so the march can be risk assessed. If you are unable to attend but feel you maybe able to support us in other ways, please, please email and let us know.
With heartfelt thanks to all of you who have taken the time to help in whatever way over the last 20 months.
