By Jacqueline Carpenter From RCIPS

The Cayman Islands Join an Initiative throughout UK Overseas Territories to Combat Online Child Sexual Abuse Imagery

Today the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a UK-based incorporated charity, has launched an initiative across the UK Overseas Territories to combat child sexual abuse imagery online. This initiative has been made possible by funding from the UK FCO Cyber Security Capacity Building Programme. (A brief clip explaining the portal can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMNJABDY6cY).

The Cayman Islands has joined this initiative through the participation of the RCIPS, various Government agencies, media and private businesses. These entities have committed to help bring awareness to the islands about this issue by hosting a portal on their websites through which local residents can anonymously report child sexual abuse content they may see online.

“Child Pornography is a depiction of child sexual abuse, and every time these images are viewed, there is a re-victimisation of a child. This is an initiative where everyone can work together to remove such images from the internet,” says Detective Superintendent Mike Cranswick, who spearheaded the project in the Cayman Islands. “While we have no indication that this content has been produced here in Cayman or that it involves children in the Cayman Islands, people in Cayman may unintentionally come across such content from elsewhere while surfing the internet. We want them to know that there is something positive they can do when they see this online – they can report it and they can report it completely anonymously.”

Once reported to the IWF, the images are viewed by experts who evaluate them for child sexual abuse content and then liaise with international law enforcement to remove that content from the internet. The RCIPS will also be working with the ICTA and Internet Service Providers to eventually be able to block access to illegal sites from within the Cayman Islands as part of the prevention and disruption strategy.

Harriet Lester, the IWF’s Technical Projects Officer working with the RCIPS says: “The launch of the Reporting Portal in the Cayman Islands and across the UK Overseas Territories is a huge step toward our mission to remove child abuse images and video [sometimes known as child pornography] from the internet completely. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re looking forward to helping the Cayman Islands make its corner of the internet a safer place.”

As of today the IWF Portal is now available on the following websites of law enforcement, government agencies, media, service providers and not-for-profit organizations: