Let's beat web child abuse

The scourge of sick child abuse images littering the internet is the biggest web concern for British surfers. Seven in ten of those who go online in the UK rate the availability of the perverted pictures as their greatest worry in cyberspace.

And three quarters of those who have stumbled across the disgusting snaps admit they have no idea how to report them.

The research marks today's Internet Watch Foundation Awareness Day.

The charity runs a hotline that allows people to report such images by emailing a link to its investigators.

The IWF then works with police forces and internet service providers around the world to track down those behind the abuse in a bid to bring them before the courts, and ensure the children involved are taken out of harm's way.

Peter Robbins OBE, Chief Executive of the IWF, said: "The UK has a very proactive approach to tackling child sexual abuse content online but we could do even more with the public's help.

"That is why so many organisations are taking part in this campaign today to reach millions of people and raise awareness of our Hotline service.

"Internet consumers should know that if they do stumble across these images then it's vital to report them to the IWF; we have international partnerships in place to get these websites removed."

In 2007, it processed nearly 35,000 reports from the public.

Worryingly, ten per cent of the children in images assessed by IWF appear to be under two, with a third between three and six.

Eight in ten are under the age of ten.

But according to the body, its initiatives like the voluntary blocking within the UK of child sexual abuse websites by online firms are helping to reduce inadvertent access to content hosted abroad.

Last year saw a ten per cent decrease in the number of websites confirmed by the IWF to depict child sexual abuse.

And the charity has had big success. Back in 1997, 18 per cent of reports to the IWF were traced to UK hosts. Now that is less than one per cent.

The IWF was founded by the internet industry in 1996 and works in partnership with the police, government, the wider online sector and the public to combat the availability of potentially illegal online content within its remit.

For more information or to report a website visit www.iwf.org.uk.

The Sun