Your team were all so knowledgeable, skilled and welcoming – it was a genuine joy to be able to spend a day with your experts and to feel the passion for safeguarding that ran through everything that you do, I wish I could have stayed!
There is a global community of people working in different organisations to tackle the problem of online child sexual abuse. For those who are at the coalface, and need to view child sexual abuse material, it is vital that all necessary support is in place to help them do their job safely.
While collaboration occurs across organisations to develop welfare resources which support people on the ground, resources aren’t enough on their own. At the IWF we have focused on developing a strong culture that puts staff development and welfare at its core, and there is a strong emphasis on making sure colleagues are well supported and looked-after.
We know that our welfare programme is considered exemplary in our field and we are often asked to share our approach with other organisations. By exchanging information in this way, we also learn from others.
Over the past year we have demonstrated our welfare provision to other organisations, including regional police forces and the National Crime Agency, during visits to the Hotline and training presentations. Their feedback shows that they have made changes to their own strategies and work practices as a result. Visitors have said: “Your staff wellbeing absolutely blew us away!” and “We have immediately taken away some of the welfare measures”.
Our welfare strategy colours every aspect of our organisation and is an important consideration when recruiting new staff. Emotional resilience is a key attribute we look for and then nurture once people have joined the IWF. Our collective mission far outweighs our individual responsibilities or differences, so building a team of people who are right for the job is our main priority.
Further to this, we invest heavily in the development of our staff and have been asked to share our expertise in this area with partners working in a similar field. Attendees have commented:
While I was aware that the Internet Watch Foundation existed and understood the basics of your work, I had no idea just how much you do and how involved you have been from the ground up in leading the way with your partner members and hotlines across the world. I am genuinely impressed with the scope of your operations and how much you clearly do to protect children from further exploitation and harm.