New portal ‘key enhancement’ in children’s online safety in Malaysia

People in Malaysia can play an important role in driving down online child sexual abuse material as a new way to report criminal material is launched in the country.

A new reporting portal, set up by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and Childline Foundation Malaysia, is being launched today (26 June).

The portal, which can be accessed at https://report.iwf.org.uk/my, gives people in Malaysia a safe and anonymous way to report images and videos of child sexual abuse if they accidentally stumble across them on the internet.

The IWF is the UK charity responsible for finding and removing images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet.

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.

Susie Hargreaves OBE, Chief Executive of the IWF said: “Reporting these images, wherever in the world they are being shared, makes it easier for us to find them and to begin working to get them removed.

“We know viewing images and videos of child sexual abuse is not a victimless crime. Some of the worst abuse is perpetrated against children because there is demand from an online audience of predators to see this criminal material.

“Each image is a crime scene, and it has been known for our analysts to be able to find and identify victims and to alert the police so children can be rescued from abusive environments and safeguarded to prevent them being abused again.”

Jenny Thornton, International Development Manager at the IWF said: “Removing the videos and photos prevents the continued sharing of the material, preventing revictimisation of the children who have suffered sexual abuse.

“It can be very difficult for victims, even ones who have been removed from harm, to move on from their abuse because they know the videos and images are still in circulation. This can be very damaging and can make children victims all over again.

“Removing the videos and images also stops people accidentally stumbling across them online. We are talking about some of the most serious images of child sexual abuse, and this could be very disturbing or upsetting for people if they were to see it by mistake. Getting it off the internet makes it safer for everyone to be online.”

Datin PH Wong, Executive Director of Childline Foundation Malaysia, said the new portal will be a “key enhancement” to the child protection system in Malaysia.

She said: “With quick access to a Reporting Portal to take down child sexual images online, it is our hope that Malaysia will be able to protect its children form sexual abuse.”

The Portal is available in two languages, Malay and English, and it is the IWF’s 39th international Portal.

It is the sixth to be launched in Asia and was sponsored by the Global Fund to End Violence Against Children.